110 ;e Costco Connection DECEMBER 2017
IT’S NOT unusual for Costco Executive
members Elise and Rick Joy to go to their
local Costco in South Orange, New Jersey,
on a huge tampon run for their daughters.
Not just several boxes—more like ;;; or
;;;. That’s because their daughters,
Emma and Quinn, donate the tampons,
and feminine pads, to in-need women and
girls through a nonprofit they created,
Girls Helping Girls. Period. (GHGP; Girls
HelpingGirlsPeriod.org).
While feminine hygiene products
don’t sound like luxury items, they are out
of the budget for many women and girls.
Pads and tampons aren’t covered by the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka SNAP. For women and girls who
can’t afford these necessities, often their
only solution is to miss work or skip school.
Emma and Quinn, who oversee
GHGP’s social media, first learned of the
desperate need when volunteering at a
local food pantry. The idea that girls their
age had to stay home during their men-
strual cycle was a lightbulb moment for
them, says their mother, who manages the
operation. “It wasn’t something we ever
stopped to think about, and when we did,
it was so obvious,” says Elise.
Both girls also assist in packing and
distributing the products. “Some women
have broken down into tears of joy when
receiving supplies, and that means the
world to us,” recalls Quinn, ;;.
After the Joys’ first donation drive in
;;;; collected, and distributed, ;;,;;;
products, the trio realized the enormity of
the need. To date they’ve donated ;;;,;;;
products. GHGP’s main goal is to take the
burden off local girls and young women.
“We also hope to erase the stigma that
exists surrounding periods,” adds Emma,
;;. So far, GHGP has partnered with ;;
schools in Essex County, New Jersey, providing a one-year supply to ;;; girls. And
just this fall, GHGP donated ;;,;;; products to the victims of the recent disasters
in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.
—Rita Colorito
We are Phamaly
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here for a video of Phamaly
actors performing in Annie. (See
page 11 for details.)
Girls Helping
Girls. Perıod.
MANY PERFORMERS in the Denver–
based Phamaly Theatre Company describe
it as a “lifesaver,” “godsend” or “blessing.”
“Before finding Phamaly, I was so depressed and angry about my situation,”
says Lucy Roucis, who has been a company
Phamaly actors
perform Tiny Tim.
Quinn (left)
and Emma Joy
gathering
supplies.
member for ;; years. At age ;;,
Roucis was diagnosed with
early-onset Parkinson’s disease, “but joining Phamaly
helped me with acceptance,”
she says.
Formerly known as the
Physically Handicapped Actors
& Musical Artists League,
Phamaly casts its musical and
nonmusical productions exclusively with performers with
disabilities (physical, cognitive,
emotional, blindness, deafness,
etc.) The five founders, all disabled, formed the company in
;;;; to address the lack of theatrical opportunities for people
like them.
“Phamaly gives us a wonderful opportunity to challenge
and dismantle our preconceived notions about disability,” says Costco member Regan
Linton, artistic director and
acting executive director for
the theater company.
“Our modus operandi,” Linton, a survivor of spinal cord injury who uses a wheelchair, explains, “is to take a well-known
work and make it innovative.” She adds,
“We see disabilities as creative opportunities, not as something to be afraid of.”
CHANGING THE WORLD
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 109
Phamaly quickly rose to acclaim,
winning awards in Colorado and gaining
local, regional and national visibility,
including the PBS NewsHour in ;;;;;
a documentary short, We Are Phamaly; a
full-length documentary, There’s Still
Hope for Dreams (A Phamaly Story); and,
most recently, a mention in The New
York Times.
In ;;;;, Phamaly began touring statewide, and in ;;;;, the company went on a
multistate tour. In ;;;;, Phamaly completed its first international performance,
at the BiG-i International Communication
Center for People with Disabilities, in
Osaka, Japan.
Roucis recalls, with a hint of chagrin,
how she was initially afraid to audition
for Phamaly. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to
be affiliated with ‘those people,’ ” she says.
“But [then] they applauded me, and I
realized, ‘They like me!’” Indeed, she was
offered one of the lead parts in the upcoming show. Beaming, Roucis says, “I’m so
proud to be affiliated with ‘these’ people.”
—Irene Middleman Thomas
ELIS
E
JO
Y
C
H
AEL
E
N
SMIN
G
ER
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here for a video of Giveaway Day.
