Teacher launches hygiene initiative to assist students when they need it most

ST. CROIX -- Krystal Martin has been a middle school teacher for over eight years.

In that time, she has helped her students meet and exceed academic goals. She has also found herself helping them excel socially, laying a foundation for them to be responsible and confident young adults. To that end, and beginning in 2019, she transformed her classroom at John H. Woodson Junior High School as a safe where students could receive hygiene products via her “Ms. Martin’s Lady Pouches Initiative.

“When we started the school year in 2019, I was so heartbroken to see that many of my female students weren’t prepared if they had a cycle accident in school and many did not even know what to expect during their cycle,” she said, adding that students may also have felt the need to refresh after gym classes or during lunch break after spending time outdoors in the sun.