Go with the Flo

Needs don't disappear when school is out for summer, and one local organization is taking steps to make sure students have the support they need during the break.

Warren County's Aunt Flo Initiative was created in late 2021 with the mission of supplementing local public schools and other local organizations who support underserved community members with period and hygiene supplies. The group coordinates with school nurses, counselors, teachers and administration to provide supplies to any student or staff member who needs them.

Aunt Flo recently kicked off its 2026 summer supply drive to provide packs of needed period and hygiene items, enough to last the summer, for students who need them. Their 2025 summer supply drive saw over 100 bags of supplies donated and delivered to local public schools. 

"We also want to normalize talking about periods, puberty and hygiene health because real people experience these very real things," Ashely Gillentine Wright, who founded the Aunt Flo Initiative along with Cydney Langford and Amanda Lowe, said. "When Cydney brought the idea up at brunch to start this project, Amanda and I were immediately on board. We all remembered being kids and being caught without the proper supplies at school, and we all remembered being embarrassed to ask for what we needed when that happened."

Since launching the program, the group has been overwhelmed by the response of those supporting and donating to Aunt Flo as well as those who benefit from the organization's generosity.

"Even as adults, we know so many people who are still embarrassed to talk about things pertaining to periods and other natural body things. We also knew that a whole lot of other people would remember as well, so we assumed we would have a good amount of support in starting what we now call The Aunt Flo Initiative," Wright said. "Still, we were absolutely blown away by the response we received almost right off the bat. School nurses, teachers and administrators reached out, and businesses and individuals donated supplies and money."

With an unexpected influx of resources, Aunt Flo's outreach quickly grew.

"Two schools that we were able to provide supplies for became five schools, and we were soon providing supplies to all 11 local public schools as well as the McMinnville campuses of Motlow and TCAT," Wright said. "We had enough supplies to also donate to organizations like HOME and Families in Crisis and the Child Advocacy Center, to name a few.

"We were even able to help out a Cannon County elementary school and the Murfreesboro campus of TCAT due to some out-of-county support we received. We've gotten donations from supporters in Missouri, California, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia and we have rarely had to turn down a donation request from a school, organization or individual. It's been quite a ride and we are diving headfirst into our 2026 summer supply drive."

For this year's project, Aunt Flo is requesting donations of pads (1 and 2 absorbency), tampons (light and regular absorbency), pantyliners, flushable wipes, shampoo/conditioner, bar soaps/body wash, toothbrushes/toothpaste, deodorant, reuseable/disposable heating pads, lip balm, sunscreen and tote bags. 

"We especially need those pads, tampons, deodorant, lip balm, disposable heating pads and reuseable tote bags," Langford said. "We will happily accept gently used tote bags, but we ask that all the other supplies be new and in their original packaging. Thanks to our current back stock, a recent huge donation from First National Bank of Middle Tennessee and some support from the First United Methodist Church Missions Team, we were able to make a pretty big dent in our collection goal, but the need is more than double what it was last year. We definitely need all the support we can get from the community this time around."

Aunt Flo accepts donations year-round but the deadline for the summer supply drive is Monday, May 18. Donations may be dropped off at Ashley's Attic (301 South High Street), Wink Skincare (228 East Morford Street), Graves Family Pharmacy (357 West Main Street), Main Street Media (230 West Colville Street) and Lemon (126 East Main Street). The group has an Amazon Wishlist where interested donors can click here to order items to be delivered straight to Aunt Flo. For more information, see the Aunt Flo Facebook page.

"I am so thankful we get to do this for the community," Langford said. "A free supply of hygiene products can help give a child autonomy. Beautiful things can be born out of friendship and a love of community, and Aunt Flo is one of them."