GREENWICH – During the month of May, UJA-JCC Greenwich gave the local food pantry ‘Neighbor to Neighbor’ 100 totes filled with essential hygiene supplies. The do-nation was made as part of the organization’s Dignity Grows program, which provides monthly personal and feminine products to those who cannot afford such products. 

It is estimated that one in five American women lack the means to purchase menstrual supplies and toiletries. While such products are often taken for granted, for those who must go without the upshot can mean missed days of school or work and and an ac-companying sense of shame and loss of income. Government benefits such as SNAP don’t cover menstrual products and toiletries.

And UJA-JCC Greenwich is not alone in supporting Neighbor to Neighbor. The Greenwich chapter of Pitch Your Peers, which annually gives grants to local nonprofits serving people most in need, selected the Greenwich food pantry as their 2021 bene-ficiary with similar items.

“We were aware of the Pitch Your Peers donation, and we wanted to make sure that Neighbor to Neighbor would have enough supplies to carry them through the sum-mer,” said Margie Black, chair of Dignity Grows in Greenwich. “Building on Pitch Your Peers’ recent largesse, now Neighbor to Neighbor will have enough to offer everyone who uses their services.”

“UJA-JCC Greenwich has a proud tradition of showing up and making a difference in our community,” said UJA-JCC Greenwich CEO Pam Ehrenkranz. “Our Dignity Grows program has supported Neighbor to Neighbor in the past, along with JFS Greenwich, Schoke Jewish Family Service in Stamford, YWCA Greenwich and MetCouncil on Jewish Poverty. It’s heart warming to see the responsiveness among Greenwich wom-en to the cause of alleviating period poverty. All are welcome to join us in future efforts to fulfill this very real human need.” 

For more information, visit www.ujajcc.org.