Share the Dignity, Beechworth - 2026 Social Well-being Finalist.
A regional Facebook post about bushfire relief donations turned into four carloads of sanitary products, delivered to Wangaratta because a Beechworth collection box overflowed, more than once.
That kind of response is what convinced local group "What Women Can Do" that period poverty needed a dedicated local answer, not just Share the Dignity's national campaigns reaching regional Victoria secondhand. Founded after a chance newspaper interview question about who the founder would most like to host in Beechworth (her answer: Share the Dignity founder Rochelle Courtenay), the group grew from a small circle of friends into a genuine local fixture, placing collection boxes around town for the charity's three annual campaigns and packing bags for the "It's in the Bag" Christmas drive.
An 85-person fundraising luncheon in 2024 (Rochelle Courtenay joined by video call after a last-minute illness kept her from travelling) raised nearly 200 packets of pads and tampons and led directly to a free period product dispensing machine being installed in Beechworth Library. In 2025, the group assembled and donated more than 350 bags, up from a standing start.
What the group has learned: people don't need to be pressured into caring about period poverty, just given an easy, unembarrassing way to help.
The X-factor is flexibility. No mandatory meetings, no fixed commitment, just women (and now a couple of men) helping women however they have time to give.
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