CORDELE– The Little Lily Project is a brand new idea by Catherine Harrell with the Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce. Harrell had come across a blog online written by a school nurse in a high-poverty rural area. The nurse was talking about how many girls did not have access to basic feminine hygiene products they needed. Girls were using rolled up toilet paper, which is insufficient and not practical.

Harrell, with her mom Melanie Akin dug around and researched about Crisp, Dooly and Wilcox County schools.

Dooly County schools offer panty-liners, but those also are still not efficient.

“It’s also only offered at the school, it’s not something they can bring home. It’s not really good for home use. So that’s where we thought, ‘what do we do about this?’ It’s not a problem that we’ve thought about and I don’t think it’s a problem many other people have thought about. It’s such a basic need and as women, we all go through it,” Harrell said.

So far the Little Lily Project is collecting feminine pads, feminine wipes, girls’ panties (sizes 12-14) and panty liners for Crisp, Wilcox and Dooly county high schools.

Harrell chose a lily to represent the project because of its strong symbolism.

“We went with a lily because a lily is a feminine flower. It’s also a flower that is strong because even when the seasons change they never really go away. So they’re strong and feminine at the same time. It’s a flower that has staying power. We wanted the strength from the lily to be a part of it,” Harrell said.

According to Harrell, there are girls in this community that their families do not have the money to buy the feminine products they need. So many girls rely on their schools to provide them with basic feminine hygiene products. The problem though is that the girls cannot bring any feminine products home to use outside of school.

“All it takes is just a few people, all you have to do is pick up an extra pack when you go to the store. If just a few people help us out that way, we can make a huge difference in these girls’ lives,” Harrell said.

There are drop-off locations where businesses and organizations in the community are accepting donations to then give to the schools.

So far those locations are:

Artsy Fartsy Experience

City of Unadilla

City of Vienna

Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce

The Cordele Dispatch

Crisp County Learning Center

Dooly County Chamber of Commerce

St. Charles Place Apartments

If any businesses or organizations are interested in becoming a drop-off location for donations, contact Catherine Harrell at the Cordele-Crisp Chamber of Commerce. For more information:

Email: thelittlelilyproject@gmail.com

Facebook: The Little Lily Project

Phone: 229-273-1669