Let’s Talk with Rochelle Courtenay
We're back for Episode 3 of Season 2, and it's with none other than Founder and Managing Director of Share the Dignity, Rochelle Courtenay! Nicknamed ‘The Pad Lady’, Rochelle is a woman on a mission to end period poverty, and break the silence and stigma that surrounds women and periods in Australia and globally. She’s the Founder and Managing Director of Share the Dignity, a charity she started single-handedly in 2015 when she discovered that women in need in Australia had no access to period products during their menstrual cycle. Share the Dignity started from a simple, grassroots idea of wanting to improve the lives of disadvantaged women, and Rochelle forged ahead on the belief that one person could indeed make a difference. Along the way, her dedication inspired others to join in. Today, she leads a team of over 5500 volunteers determined to bring a ray of hope and light into the lives of homeless women and those fleeing from abuse and domestic violence. Share the Dignity has donated over 2.8 million period products (over 37 million dollars’ worth) through multiple initiatives across Australia. Rochelle has also won recognition and accolades for her work including Finalist Australian of the Year, Cosmopolitan Humanitarian of the Year and Pride of Australia.
In this chat we talk on:
When Rochelle realised having painful and heavy periods wasn’t normal, and that she actually had endometriosis
What prompted Rochelle to start Share The Dignity
The first Dignity Drive, where she organised with women in her community to donate 450 packets of pads and tampons to women in need
How Rochelle evolved and grew Share The Dignity to have now collected over 2.8million period products and collection boxes in every Woolworths across Australia
The highlights of Share The Dignity so far
All about Period Pride and the Bloody Big Survey and how you can get involved
What’s coming up next for Share The Dignity
How you can support Share The Dignity
Plus so much more
If you loved our chat with Rochelle, and want more from her you can find her on Instagram @sharethedignityaustralia or via the The Share the Dignity website here. If you want to keep up with what we're up to you can follow us on Instagram at @letstalkperiodau. If you do enjoy listening and want to be notified when our new eps drop, you can subscribe or follow the show! We would also love it if you shared this episode with a friend or family member, or even show us how you're listening, tag us on instagram stories or in your grid, it really does help us out!as this helps us grow our community!
Your host is Isabella Gosling (@i_gosling).
