MORE:\u00a0Val’s owners say opening Philly’s only lesbian bar comes with a ‘big sense of responsibility’<\/a><\/p>\n Anyone who donates to one of the Manayunk Wingwomen gets a free vinyl sticker of\u00a0the coalition’s logo,\u00a0a maxi pad with its wings spread. Some businesses, like Main Street bistro Blondie<\/a>, are even adding themed items to their menus and donating the proceeds to the nonprofit.<\/p>\n \n\u201cIt\u2019s my favorite month of the year,\u201d said Shelley Aragoncillo, founder of Grab-N-Flow. \u201cIt\u2019s been so cool to see these businesses come together and the excitement of people dropping off products at a store.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nGrab-N-Flow was created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when Aragoncillo\u00a0found herself overly stocked with diapers, postpartum underwear and other supplies after giving birth to her son.\u00a0During the mandated quarantines, she noticed an increased demand on social media for basic necessities like pads, tampons and baby food so she decided not to waste the resources she had. She\u00a0installed a small shed on the side of her South Philly home to store the products and encouraged her neighbors to use the shed to take or donate supplies.<\/p>\n “The response I got back from the community was saying, ‘We want to help,’ and that’s kind of what kept it going,”\u00a0Aragoncillo said. \u201cIt\u2019s accessible 24\/7 and completely anonymous.\u00a0We don\u2019t take information when people need stuff, they can just access it.”<\/p>\n \nAcross the Schuylkill River, Brandy Deieso, owner of Little Apple Gift Boutique on Manayunk\u2019s Main Street, heard about the budding nonprofit and felt inspired to support the cause herself.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cI just thought it was so cool, impressive and impactful,\u201d she said. \u201cI, at the time, had a small baby myself and the idea of not having all the supplies that I would need to comfortably care for my child during such a vulnerable time just really spoke to me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nDeieso began reaching out to female business owners around her block to gauge their interest in contributing to Grab-N-Flow\u2019s stockpile for women’s history month in March. What started as a word-of-mouth drive quickly became one of Aragoncillo\u2019s most trusted resources, producing dozens of cases of donated products each year.\n<\/p>\n Women-owned businesses in Manayunk are displaying pink crates, like the one above, to collect donations.<\/p>\n Grab-N-Flow now has dropoff locations in three Philly libraries, and Aragoncillo said she has needed to rent out a storage unit for all of the overflow.<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe fact that I can rely on that drive happening every year has provided quite a bit of stability for me in terms of product and mental stability that we\u2019re going to be able to continue to operate,\u201d Aragoncillo said.\n<\/p>\n \nThis year, Deieso and Aragoncillo worked with\u00a0Kimberly Arroyo, executive director of the\u00a0North Light Community Center, to set up a donation spot that will be open\u00a0year-round at the Manayunk food pantry.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we are able to provide food to many families, essential hygiene products and diapers are often harder to secure,\u201d Arroyo said in a statement. \u201cThis initiative helps close that gap by allowing neighbors to give and receive support anonymously and without barriers. Together, we are creating a space where basic needs are met with compassion and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, 1 in 4 teenagers and 1 in 3 adults in Pennsylvania struggled to purchase period products, and Black and Hispanic communities were\u00a0disproportionately impacted, according to a memo released by members of the state\u00a0House of Representatives<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aragoncillo\u00a0said due to the anonymous nature of her program, she has no way to know how many people rely on her organization at any given time, but she said she\u2019s noticed that external factors like the baby formula shortage<\/a> of 2022, federal funding cuts to SNAP benefits<\/a> and increased immigration raids<\/a> have increased the strain on her organization.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThings like that have a really big impact because the money that they maybe had to spend on menstrual products or baby formula now has to go into just feeding themselves or their family,\u201d Aragoncillo said. \u201cWe work with a few clinics who work with underinsured or undocumented folks to supply nursing pumps and things like that.<\/p>\n \u201c… There\u2019s a really cool community of people doing menstrual equity work in Philly, and I just want to be able to kind of make an impact in my community where I can.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Manayunk](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot_2026-03-18_at_3.44.43PM.width-704.png\")
Provided Image\/Manayunk Wingwomen<\/p>\n