Dignity Drive FAQs
Our Dignity Drives run every March and August.
We accept donations of brand new period products including pads, tampons, maternity pads, incontinence pads, reusable pads, period-proof underwear and menstrual cups or discs.
We collect this variety of period products, so everyone in need receives their preferred period product.
All donations must be brand new, still sealed in their original packaging and must comply with Australian quality standards.
A full list of all registered collection points will be on the Dignity Drive webpage during the months of March and August.
Your local Woolworths Supermarket will have a box near the checkouts. Click here to find your nearest Woolworths.
You are more than welcome to set up your own internal collection drive and ask friends/family/colleagues/your local community to donate period products.
We love seeing how the public collect donations – you can use any kind of collection container you like, and there are a range of downloadable resources available that you can print out to decorate your collection container.
Also, during the Dignity Drives in March and August, you can drop off donated items at any of the registered collection points, including Woolworths Supermarkets. You can find your closest registered collection point via our Dignity Drive webpage.
Charities register with Share the Dignity and during Dignity Drives request a set amount of items to see them through until the next drive. All donated items are collected by our volunteers and distributed based on the requests by our charities.
Charities are eligible if they are helping those experiencing homelessness, victims of domestic violence, people in crisis and people in rural and remote locations with difficulty accessing period products.
If you can’t get to collection points physically but would still like to support, you can post your donations to P.O Box 345 Virginia QLD 4014.
In the months before March and August, there will be an opportunity to register your business or workplace as a collection point on the Dignity Drive webpage.
You are welcome to purchase a collection box from our website or alternatively create your own and decorate it. There is also a link to resources and posters at the bottom of this webpage. Once registered, one of our volunteers will be in contact with you to arrange a collection of the generous donations you have received. Our volunteers will then distribute the products to our charity partners who will give them to those in need.
Please note: whilst we will do our best to have a volunteer collect donations from your organisation, this may not always be possible. In this event, we will work with you on an alternate arrangement to collect donations.
Hold on tight to your donations and a Share the Dignity Shero will be in contact with you towards the end of the Dignity Drive to organise pickup.
Absolutely! They need to be brand new, in packaging that meets the TGA guidelines for menstrual cups, just to be safe.
The items can be open but MUST NOT BE USED, even lightly.
This means for:
- Period undies there must be tags on or still in their boxes
- Menstrual cups must be packaging and instructions that include information on Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)
- Reusable pads must be packaged and include
- The name of your product
- Instructions for use
- List of products used to create the item
- The name and address of the manufacturer or the sponsor
- The batch number or serial number for the product contained within the pack
- If your product comes in multiple sizes, the size of the unit contained in the pack
It's in the Bag FAQS
#ItsInTheBag is Share the Dignity’s annual event where we encourage every day Australians to donate a bag to someone in need for Christmas. The bags are filled with essential items and are distributed to 3,000+ Australian charities that have registered with us.
Currently collections are now closed.
If you would like to donate outside of It’s in the Bag, you have two options:
- Mail your donation directly to us:
Share the Dignity
PO Box 345
Virginia QLD 4014 - Sponsor a bag through our website and we will pack it for you.
Collection points are now closed.
We are a primarily volunteer-run organisation, and do not have the Shero-power to arrange collection outside these times.
You can also mail your donation directly to us:
Share the Dignity
PO Box 345
Virginia QLD 4014
Unfortunately, we cannot accept these items:
- Pharmaceutical items (including condoms, throat lozenges, paracetamol and ibuprofen)
- Food and drinks
- Sharp objects (including razors and scissors)
- Loose tampons and pads (please contact your local shelters to see if they can accept these)
- The bag itself needs to be in good condition but can be a pre-loved handbag or backpack.
Essentials for Adult bags
- Period products (pads, tampons, reusable pads, period-proof underwear and menstrual cups). We collect this variety of period products, so everyone in need receives their preferred period product.
- Shampoo (full size preferred)
- Conditioner (full size preferred)
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant (roll-on preferred)
- Soap or body wash
Don’t include
- Pharmaceutical items (including condoms, throat lozenges, paracetamol and ibuprofen)
- Food and drinks
- Sharp objects (including razors and scissors)
- Loose tampons and pads (please contact your local shelters to see if they can accept these)
Please remember
- The bag itself needs to be in good condition but can be a pre-loved handbag or backpack
- All donations must be brand new, still sealed and in their original packaging
- Please do not separate out bulk packs
- All donations must comply with packaging TGA code of practice
- All handmade items must be brand new and not used
Essentials for Teen bags
- Period products suitable for young bodies (pads, tampons, reusable pads, period-proof underwear and menstrual cups). We collect this variety of period products, so everyone in need receives their preferred period product.
- Shampoo (full size preferred)
- Conditioner (full size preferred)
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant (roll-on preferred)
- Soap or body wash
Please identify a teen bag by using a yellow bag tag or ribbon
Don’t include
- Pharmaceutical items (including condoms, throat lozenges, paracetamol and ibuprofen)
- Food and drinks
- Sharp objects (including razors and scissors)
- Loose tampons and pads (please contact your local shelters to see if they can accept these)
Please remember
- The bag itself needs to be in good condition but can be a pre-loved handbag or backpack
- All donations must be brand new, still sealed and in their original packaging
- Please do not separate out bulk packs
- All donations must comply with packaging TGA code of practice
- All handmade items must be brand new and not used
Essentials for Mum & bub bags
- Period products suitable for new mums (Maternity pads)
- Shampoo (full size preferred)
- Conditioner (full size preferred)
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Deodorant (roll-on preferred)
- Soap or body wash
- Breast pads
- Newborn nappies
- Baby Shampoo & Conditioner
- Baby soap or wash
- Disposable nappy bags
- Baby wipes
- Dummies
- Nappy rash cream
Please identify a Mum & bub bag by using a purple bag tag or ribbon
Don’t include
- Pharmaceutical items (including condoms, throat lozenges, paracetamol and ibuprofen)
- Food and drinks
- Sharp objects (including razors and scissors)
- Loose tampons and pads (please contact your local shelters to see if they can accept these)
Please remember
- The bag itself needs to be in good condition but can be a pre-loved handbag or backpack
- All donations must be brand new, still sealed and in their original packaging
- Please do not separate out bulk packs
- All donations must comply with packaging TGA code of practice
- All handmade items must be brand new and not used
Full-sized items are preferred so they will last longer for the recipient, however, hotel-sized items will still be accepted.
Our wonderful volunteers (Sheroes) inspect the bag to ensure all the essentials are in there. If we come across any prohibited items, they are removed and offered separately to registered charities, if the items are safe for them to accept.
Absolutely! We can accept empty bags. If you are donating a pre-loved handbag, we ask that it is in great condition, clean and no clear signs of use.
Feel free to add other brand-new items into the collection bins that can be used for other bags, we are often short on essentials.
No. Donations must be brand new, sealed in their original packaging.
To comply with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requirements, all period products are required to be brand new, unopened and in their original packaging.
Handmade items must be unused, in a package with instructions, including where it was made, by who and use of product information.
Absolutely! They need to be brand new and sealed in their packaging.
This means for:
- Period undies there must be tags on or still in the box
- Menstrual cups must be in original packaging (to comply with the Therapeutic Goods Association requirements) and include information on Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)
- Reusable pads must be packaged and include:
- The name/type of the product
- Instructions for use
- List of products used to create the item
- The name and address of the manufacturer
- The batch number or serial number for the product contained within the pack
- If your product comes in multiple sizes, the size of the unit contained in the pack
Please don’t include these items in your bags. You can reach out to your local charities (like domestic violence refuges) to see if they would like a donation. Find your nearest on Ask Izzy.
We do our best to keep donations in the local area where possible. However, as a National Charity we try to distribute donations to those in need. This may mean that where we collect more than what is needed in a state/area, we transport the donations to alternate locations where we have not collected enough.
Please post your items to us at: PO Box 345 Virginia QLD 4014.
As a predominantly volunteer-based charity, Share the Dignity doesn’t have the facilities, resources or Shero-power to organise collections directly.
As a predominantly volunteer-based charity, Share the Dignity doesn’t have the facilities, resources or Shero-power to organise collections directly.
Collection points are now CLOSED. You are welcome to donate online or post your donation to us: PO BOX 345 Virginia QLD 4014
If you’d like to, you can become a local collection point. We won’t be advertising any collection points outside of Bunnings stores, but we know so many of you are working hard to collect too! You will just need to post your collection to: PO BOX 345 Virginia QLD 4014
Share the Dignity FAQs
Share the Dignity is a national charity working to ensure menstrual equity for all in Australia. We work hard to ease the burden of menstrual inequity because we believe access to period products is a right and not a privilege.
We ease this burden through our two Dignity Drives each year, our It’s In The Bag campaign and events such as DigniTea.
Share the Dignity volunteers, known as Sheroes help primarily through collecting donations from the public and distributing them to local charities. This happens mostly during our Dignity Drives (March and August) and our It’s In The Bag campaign (November). We also have leadership roles available which are more hands-on, administrative roles and operational. Once you have registered as a volunteer, your state leader can give you more information if you wish to take on a leadership position.
Our Shero roles take an average of three hours a week during our major drives and campaigns. A Share the Dignity volunteer first of all looks after business collection points and delivers to a charity near them for our Dignity Drives and our It’s In The Bag campaign. If you would like to volunteer with us, please visit the volunteer page for more information and to sign up.
Charities tell us that period products are the first thing to be taken by those in need but are often last thing to be donated.
If you donated via our shop or donated via shopping online with one of our corporate partners, you can be assured that the item/s will not be shipped to you and will be donated directly to someone in need.
Charity and Support FAQs
Share the Dignity’s mission is to ensure menstrual equity for all and ensure that all women have unrestricted access to period products. We do this through the donation and distribution of period products including pads, maternity pads, incontinence pads, new reusable pads, tampons, period-proof underwear and menstrual cups. Any donations must be brand new, still sealed in their original packaging and must comply with Australian quality standards. We do this because no woman should have to choose between a tampon and a meal.
We understand that the issues facing women, both here in Australia and around the world, are not limited to menstrual inequity. There are a huge number of organisations and resources available to support women with a range of issues, including healthcare, counselling, financial support and safety. Share the Dignity encourages any woman seeking information or advice on these matters to contact a medical professional that they trust, or they can contact 1800 Respect (1800 737 732) or Ask Izzy to help find the best resources for their situation.
Share the Dignity is not a healthcare provider, nor are we able to provide direct financial support. Our focus remains on providing women, girls and those who menstruate and who are in need, access to period products so that they are not forced to choose between dignity and a meal.
If you or someone you know needs the support of a resource outside what Share the Dignity can provide, please visit this page for more information.
Thank you for your enquiry, and for wanting to help make a difference to the lives of those in need. Share the Dignity supports the efforts of organisations who support those in need. If you would like to register, you can find more information here.
We endeavour to meet all requests for donations, however, Share the Dignity is reliant on the donations of period products and toiletries from our incredible supporters in order to fulfil these requests.
