Young man in black shirt sits in front of beige wall

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Period poverty is what UNICEF says has a negative effect on teenage girls when it comes to schooling. It is when they cannot afford to buy menstrual products or there is a lack of access.

West High Senior Jordy Cambara doesn’t need period products but he knows they’re a necessity for fellow classmates. That’s why he has started collecting tampons and pads to leave in bathrooms at school.

“When I asked my friends and stuff, you know, they would tell me that some of them would skip class because they didn’t have any on hand or it was like an emergency situation. They couldn’t go to class because of having their period at the moment, and I was like, why should they be skipping class for something that they should have on hand anyways, and something that should be available to them,” said Cambara.

He got the idea after a bill from the Iowa Youth Advisory Council, that he helped with, that would’ve put period products in bathrooms. It didn’t pass in Des Moines.

“Why should I wait till next year? When I could do this now? And so I brought that idea back to West and I’m like, I’m gonna do something about it and hopefully, bring it out to Sioux City,” said Cambara.

Now, Jordy is accepting donations of tampons and pads -- along with a GoFundMe that has already raised more than $350. He’s put $80 of his own money toward getting the project up and running.

Watch the video by KTIV's Clair Bradshaw and learn how to donate here