Let’s get ready to party!

desireevt — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:11:46 +0000

We know you’ve been hoarding extra packages of pads and tampons, anxiously awaiting the next On the Spot party.

We’ll guess what? We’re ready to party with you again!

November 11th, 6-8:30pm at Howlers (4509 Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield)

We’re currently hard at work rounding up some awesome raffle prizes for an all-local auction and deciding what kind of lovely baked goods to produce for the cookie table! Yes, there will be baklava. There will be boozed up cupcakes. There may even be boozy whoopie pies.

As always, it’ll cost you $5 and a package of menstrual supplies or $10 to gain access to gorge yourself at the cookie table. We’ll also hassle you throughout the night to buy your 50/50 raffle tickets and raffle tickets.

If you have anything you’d like to donate to the auction or cookie table, send us an email at pghonthespot@gmail.com!

The Third Time Was Charming!

desireevt — Wed, 25 May 2011 23:22:11 +0000

We had another great fundraiser last night; we raised over $700 and collected lots of pads and tampons! Thank you to everyone who came out to continue supporting the young girls who receive menstrual supplies, and other hygiene products at 68 different schools and centers throughout Allegheny County!!

We are very grateful for your continued support for this project and your dedication to continue to help the young girls in our region focus on their education instead of worrying about whether or not they’ll have a pad or tampon to use.

Congratulations to the silent auction winners! And a big thank you again to: Erin Morey-Busch, Rachel Filippini, Penny Fleming and Boyd England, GoddessWare, Commonwealth Press, The Pittsburgh Marshmallow Factory, East End Brewing Company, Tupelo Honey Teas and Capture Production Studios for donating the prizes.

As usual, we gorged ourselves on cookies, cupcakes and baklava:

We hope you all enjoyed the fun, and the amazing beer selections and specials from Hough’s, our wonderful hosts!

Don’t forget! You don’t have to come to an event to donate! Information on how to donate supplies or money is available here!

What Happens When you Donate

desireevt — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:39:34 +0000

So just where do all of the pads and tampons and cash money that you donate to On the Spot go? To all of these schools and other organizations that provide services to young girls in our region:

Schools:

Sto-Rox MS
Sto-Rox HS
Wilkinsburg HS/MS
Westinghouse
Faison K-8 Intermediate
Sterrett MS
CAPA HS and MS
Pittsburgh Conroy MS/HS
Lincoln K-8 Intermediate
Manchester MS
Langley
Oliver HS
Schaeffer K-8
Stevens MS
King MS
Peabody HS
Allderdice HS
Allegheny MS
Arsenal MS
Brashear
South Hills MS
Carrick
Classical Academy
Brookline MS
Carmalt K-8
South Brooke K-8
Colfax K-8
Greenfield K-8
Milliones/UPREP Hill District
Montessori K-8
Murray K-8
Pioneer Special Ed.
Science and Technology
Sunnyside MS
Perry HS
McNaugher MS/HS
Northview K-8
Mifflin K-8
Schiller K-8
Westwood K-8

Other schools/organizations

MACS
Arbor
City Connections East
City Connections West
City Connections CCAC
Gwen’s Girls Point Breeze
Gwen’s Girls-McKeesport
Gwen’s Girls-North Side Residential Program
Mon Valley Bridge
Women’s Center and Shelter
Beverly Jewel
Youth Places (All 17 sites)

I counted (so you don’t have to). That’s 68 different places that now have supplies in place for girls who are in need of menstrual supplies!

Let’s all say it together: SQUEEEEE!

BUT… 68 is a lot. That’s why we need you to come out to Hough’s on May 24th and donate more supplies so that we can keep all of these places stocked up!

The need is real

Jennifer England — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:44:48 +0000

You’ve heard about our next event. You were moved by our mission when you first heard about it. But let me remind you of why we need you to come to Hough’s on May 24th.

We first heard about the need for menstrual products and supplies over a year ago. Since that time, thanks to you generous and good hearted people, we have distributed almost 8,000 pads, panty liners and tampons and over 200 hygiene packs to 40 schools and 29 organizations serving girls and their families. This morning I recorded a segment on KQV about On the Spot and heard first hand from Sue Steele about the response to your generosity.

During the interview, Sue mentioned that some of the students are staying with various relatives and are in fact transient. Transient. Children. My heart aches at that thought. There are children living in our region who don’t have homes. Who don’t know where they are staying from week to week, night to night. School is often the one consistent place in their life. These are some of the kids that are benefiting from On the Spot. And the need is great. Within weeks of distributing boxes of supplies to schools OTS postcards requesting resupply started coming back. There are a few assembled boxes left, but the supplies are dwindling and the need continues.

Most of these boxes are empty, waiting for fresh supplies.

That is why we need you to come to Hough’s on May 24th. It isn’t about the beer (though their selection is spectacular). It isn’t about the cookies (COOKIES!). It isn’t about the great stuff you can win.

It’s about kids struggling with problems way to big for their age and how you can make a difference in their life.

Get Ready for Round 3

desireevt — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:42:35 +0000

Looking to gorge yourself on cookies and other baked treats while donating menstrual supplies to girls in need around the Pittsburgh region? You’re in luck, On the Spot will be hosting another party to gather donations to supply girls with the menstrual supplies they need.

When: Tuesday May 24th, 6pm – 9pm

Where: Hough’s in Greenfield (563 Greenfield Avenue)

Costs: $10 or $5 and a package of pads or tampons (pads preferred)

All the stuff you love will be back: raffle prizes, a 50/50, a DJ, and of course: multiple cookie tables!

New York Times Article Focuses on Tween Pads

desireevt — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:28:14 +0000

The New York times had a piece last week about Kotex’s efforts to make a new line of pads more tween-friendly. Girls have started menstruating earlier and earlier in their life, and it’s great that products are being created to make the products they need tailored to them. The body of a 9-year-old is quite different than the body of a 30-year-old! The packaging of the products is bright and friendly and reminds me of one of my favorite Trapper Keepers from middle school.

Check out the article here.

Don’t forget you can buy some of these products and drop them off at one of our donation drop-off spots.

Cookies and Cocktails

desireevt — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:16:49 +0000

On Saturday night, we celebrated Women’s History Month the lovely ladies of LUPEC at one of the best places in Pittsburgh to get a cocktail: Kelly’s!

LUPEC debuted their new cocktail menu, which is full of delicious drinks, and On the Spot prepared a classy cookie-table with recipes taken from the 1953 edition of the Joy of Cooking.

Thanks to all of the lovely people who came out, we raised almost $200 and collected 25-30 packages of pads and tampons and a Diva Cup for young girls in our region!

Thank you to everyone who came out and donated. We hope you enjoyed the cocktails and desserts as much as we did!

And of course, another big THANK YOU to LUPEC for organizing the fundraiser for On the Spot. And for creating such delicious cocktails.

Cocktails & Cookies

desireevt — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:07:28 +0000

It’s time ~~to pretend~~ to be classy! March is Women’s History Month and Pittsburgh’s own Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC) has dedicated their March 19th fundraiser to On the Spot!

Join us Saturday March 19th, 9pm at Kelly’s (6012 Penn Circle South). There’s no cover charge, but don’t forget to bring some menstrual supplies!

We’re very excited about this fundraiser because the ladies of LUPEC are amazing and will be introducing their new cocktails menu at Kelly’s that night. Never fear! There will be a cookie table! We will be preparing an extra special cookie table featuring a cookie for each cocktail. And these won’t be just any regular cookies, but will be baked with the care and love that comes only from a 1950s housewife who bakes while enjoying a cocktail.

See you on March 19th!

Standing with Planned Parenthood

desireevt — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:33:18 +0000

We, the organizers, of this crazy project, are both women. I’ll let the shock settle in. I know it must be a hard concept to grasp that the two volunteers who bake hundreds of cookies and collect thousands of pads and tampons are women, but we are. As women, we both feel very strongly about a few inalienable facts:

we are just as valuable and equal as men
our health is just as important and valuable as a man’s
our reproductive organs (whether we are using them to reproduce or not) deserve access to affordable, reliable, professional health care
Planned Parenthood is a dedicated, trustworthy, professional provider of women’s health care and without them, many low-income women will lose their access to life saving care.

These facts, and countless other reasons are why we both stand with Planned Parenthood:

While there are many incredibly important and vital federal programs at risk of receiving devastating funding cuts (like Pell Grants, low-income heating assistance), we are both particularly concerned and disheartened by the Pence Amendment that would ban Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding.

Through On the Spot, we have had the pleasure of working closely with Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania‘s staff and can tell you that it would be incredibly difficult to find any other organization (for-profit or non-profit) that has a staff that is so genuinely dedicated to providing the services that they do.

Planned Parenthood provides a plethora of services for men and women:

STD/STI testing (for men too!)
Gynecological exams
Birth control services
Counseling
Abortion services
Teen counseling and education (including a 24 hour ‘Facts of Life’ phone line)
Education programming in local schools

It would be impossible to begin to describe how absolutely vital these services are. They save lives. Women are alive today because of the care they received at Planned Parenthood. Defunding Planned Parenthood and thereby denying low-income women of these services is unconscionable and despicable.

We will continue to Stand with Planned Parenthood. We will call and thank our local Congressmen (Mike Doyle: 202-225-2135; Jason Altmire: 202-225-2565) for voting against the Pence Amendment. We will call our Senators (Bob Casey: 202-224-6324; Pat Toomey: 202-224-4254) and ask them to support women and vote against the Pence Amendment. We will do all that we can to support Planned Parenthood, as tirelessly and passionately as they have supported the millions of women they have cared for and will continue to care for.

To find out more on how to Stand with Planned Parenthood, check out their Action Center here.

And in case you’re still wondering how dedicated we are, we both turned ourselves into sausage like hunchbacks to put Planned Parenthood t-shirts over our winter coats at a rally today!

Weekly Specials! Feb. 20th-26th

desireevt — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:40:20 +0000

Hello all!

We apologize for the long break since our last post, but don’t think we’ve been dormant. We’ve just spent so much time planning how to blow you away at our next fundraiser (and eating cookies as research), we forgot to keep you updated on the sweet deals for menstrual products.

Check out these sweet sales:

Walgreens has a Buy 1 get one 50% sale on:

28-48 packs of Stayfree Maxi pads
40 pack of o.b. tampons

Target has up&up brand Pads on sale for $3.79 for a pack of 36

CVS is featuring 20-48 count Always Pads for only $5.29

Rite-Aid has a bunch of Platex and Kotex brand pads and tampons for sale!

And check out this adorable little feminist: