Responding to indignity in our community — Celebrating mission in Calgary

By Cindy Larsen, Calgary AB

I am the mother of three daughters and was a single mother for a long time, so I learned firsthand how expensive basic needs for women can be. Over the years, I began noticing more efforts to raise awareness about the need for feminine hygiene products. Shoppers Drug Mart had a collection bin, my softball team supported Tampon Tuesday, and my health-care union held a supplies drive. I loved seeing people respond to a need that can so easily be overlooked, and when I reached a point where I could be a giver, I wanted to do the same.

When our Calgary Congregation held a brainstorming session about mission opportunities that would work for our small congregation and limited volunteer resources, I brought the idea forward. Parker Johnson suggested the name “Dignity Box,” and the congregation immediately embraced it. We had already been supporting the local food bank, but this gave us a particular way to respond to our growing awareness of the indignities experienced by marginalized people around us. It also fit naturally with what we had learned through our welcoming and affirming work and our experience as a downtown congregation.

We started the Dignity Box at the beginning of 2025. It sits at the front of the church, under the church seal that remains as a legacy from our previous building, and it is always there for people to add donations. Feminine hygiene products are an important part of what we collect, along with deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, socks, and other basic necessities. We all deserve a life where our basic hygiene needs can be met without embarrassment.

The box fills surprisingly quickly. Once we have a good amount to donate, we work through two local organizations already serving people in need: the Calgary Drop-In Centre and the Calgary Food Bank. The Drop-In Centre works with people experiencing homelessness, while the Food Bank supports people experiencing food insecurity. The Food Bank has also seen increasing requests for feminine hygiene products, and through the Dignity Box we can address that need in our own small way.

Getting the donations where they need to go is simple. When we donate to the Food Bank, my husband, Pastor Doug, passes the supplies to a neighbour in our building who takes them along when he works his shift there. When we donate to the Drop-In Centre, Doug and I take them to the Donation Centre ourselves. At Christmas, we also check the organizations’ wish lists and concentrate our giving on the items they particularly need at that time.

We don’t have direct contact with the people who eventually receive what we collect, but that doesn’t seem necessary. We know the good goes out into the world, into the hands of people who will make sure these basic necessities reach those who need them.