Students Will Compete to Assemble Thousands of Emergency Period Kits; Approximately 7,000 Kits Will Benefit Youth in Foster Care Through Comfort Cases
GAITHERSBURG, MD, UNITED STATES, September 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, a generation of young people with no personal memory of that day will come together to carry forward one of its most enduring legacies: service to others.
On Friday, September 11, from 5:30–7:30 p.m., high school students from across the region will gather at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm in Gaithersburg for Districts for Dignity™: The Period Games, a youth-led 9/11 Day of Service event combining volunteerism, menstrual-health education, advocacy and friendly competition, presented by The PATESI Foundation, Inc., Districts for Dignity™ is part of the nationwide observance of the 25th anniversary of September 11 and the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. The PATESI Foundation is among approximately 200 nonprofits, schools and community organizations across 40 states receiving support through $3 million in grants awarded by 9/11 Day to expand service opportunities for this milestone anniversary.
September 11 was a day of devastating loss, but the days and weeks that followed were also marked by extraordinary acts of courage, compassion and service. First responders ran toward danger. Neighbors helped neighbors. Volunteers stepped forward. Communities came together. In 2009, September 11 was formally designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, creating an enduring way to honor those who were lost and all those who responded by helping others.
Districts for Dignity™ gives today’s students an opportunity to experience that legacy through action.
Participating high school teams will assemble Emergency Period Kits while learning about menstrual and postpartum poverty, menstrual health, dignity, stigma and the importance of involving young people of all genders in the conversation. Rather than simply learning about community service, students will be leading it.
The event will begin with opening remarks from Yvonne Esipila Patron, CEO and Co-Founder of The PATESI Foundation, followed by a Menstrual & Postpartum Equity Walk/Parade. Student teams will then compete to assemble Emergency Period Kits, with the school completing the greatest number earning the Dignity Cup.
“Twenty-five years after September 11, we have an extraordinary opportunity to help a new generation understand not only what happened that day, but what happened afterward: people showed up for one another,” said Yvonne Esipila Patron, CEO & Co-Founder of The PATESI Foundation, Inc. “Districts for Dignity™ gives our students the opportunity to carry that legacy forward by recognizing a need in their own community and choosing to do something about it. They will learn, lead, serve and help someone they may never meet. That is how remembrance becomes service, service becomes leadership, and service creates lasting impact.”
Students representing an anticipated five to eight local high schools are expected to participate. Youth Ambassadors are helping mobilize their schools, educate their peers and lead teams during the event.
Judges and community partners are expected to include representatives from PATESI Kenya, Identity and Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring, with additional participation anticipated. Volunteers are also participating from organizations including SevaRise and Back Road Kings & Queens, along with individual community volunteers. Judges will also recognize students for the Best Project Board and present the Heart of Dignity Award to the school whose students most powerfully express what they learned from participating in the project.
Approximately 7,000 kits from the initiative are expected to be donated to Comfort Cases, with a long-term goal of providing as many as 10,000 kits. The kits will be included in Comfort Cases backpacks distributed to girls ages 10 and older entering foster care, helping ensure they have access to essential menstrual products as well as greater awareness and understanding of menstrual health.
“Entering foster care can mean being separated from your family, your home, your school and nearly everything familiar to you, sometimes with little more than the clothes you are wearing,” said Rob Scheer, Founder of Comfort Cases. “For a young person who is also beginning or managing her period, having the right products and understanding what is happening to her body is about much more than hygiene. It is about dignity, education and knowing that someone cared enough to make sure she was prepared. We have been proud to partner with PATESI for several years, and Districts for Dignity™ allows us to continue building awareness while putting thousands of needed supplies directly into the hands of young people in foster care.”
Event Highlights:
5:30 p.m. – Welcome and Opening Remarks
5:40 p.m. – Menstrual & Postpartum Equity Walk/Parade
6:30 p.m. – Districts for Dignity™ student kit-packing competition begins
6:30–7:15 p.m. – Heart of Dignity judging and student awareness showcase
7:15 p.m. – Awards, raffle, Traveling Period Cup presentation and closing celebration
7:30–8:00 p.m. – Community cleanup and breakdown
Community members can participate in the 9/11 Day of Service even if they are not affiliated with a participating school by registering HERE.
ABOUT THE PATESI FOUNDATION
The PATESI Foundation, Inc. works to address menstrual and postpartum poverty through product access, education, advocacy, community partnerships and direct service. Its work seeks not only to provide essential supplies, but also to change the conversations surrounding menstrual health, reduce stigma and create communities in which menstruation can be discussed openly and with dignity.
ABOUT COMFORT CASES
Comfort Cases is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring dignity to children and youth entering foster care. Since being founded in 2013, the organization has provided more than 320,000 backpacks filled with essential comfort and personal-care items so children entering care have something of their own and are not forced to carry their belongings in trash bags. Comfort Cases works with child welfare agencies, community organizations and corporate partners throughout the United States to ensure children entering foster care are treated with dignity from the very beginning.
VOLUNTEER INFORMATION:
Districts for Dignity™: The Period Games – 9/11 Day of Service
https://volunteer.911day.org/projects/86417e9f-539f-4fae-99ed-cf8cc7b2cc3f
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David Thalberg
Comfort Cases
+1 917-952-2580
email us here
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