Meet Wendi Schweigart of Project Marilyn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendi Schweigart.

Hi Wendi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started Project Marilyn in April of 2019 after reading an article about period poverty in a magazine. I was shocked that as a grown woman, I never thought of it. Everyone is very concerned about things like clothes, food, school supplies etc. but rarely does anyone think what a person does when they get their period and they don’t have the means to afford supplies.

Marilyn was my mother, and we lost her to cancer in 2011. When she died, she told me that she never did anything with her life; she never made an impact. She said, “Don’t be me.” That broke my heart. She was an amazing woman who lived a life of obligation over inspiration. What she didn’t realize is that by doing just that, putting one foot in front of the other and doing what had to be done, she taught me to be responsible, strong, and resilient.

Because she died from cancer, we do a lot with the American Cancer Society both personally and through our family’s construction company. But I realized like as my mom said, what was I doing that made me happy. The issue of period poverty is meaningful to me because it transcends all boundaries. It doesn’t matter if you are black, white, gay, straight, Republican or Democrat; a person’s period is coming. I want to help ease that burden so that people can move forward with their lives.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say it has been a bit of both. You’re never going to please everyone so you have to do what gives you peace and allows you to sleep at night.

I try to serve this mission and the clients in the way THEY need and not just in the way I think things should be done.

We’ve been very blessed with a community who has rallied around the mission and has been nothing but supportive. You also are faced with haters and critics who feel that you should be doing something differently so that’s always frustrating. Southern Nevada is a small community so I always underpromise and over-deliver so that our reputation stays intact. Once you lose that, you’re sunk.

Money is always a challenge as well. I still don’t take a salary which I hear on some fronts is not the best decision. If I got hit by a bus, would Project Marilyn die with me? Obviously, I hope not. However, I know that whenever we have a need it does seem that the community (and my husband) rallies around us and eases the burden.

As you know, we’re big fans of Project Marilyn. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We work on a cause known as period poverty. Two in five people cannot afford period supplies due to lack of income and one in four girls miss school each month because they don’t have proper period supplies. *Alliance for Period Supplies

Our mission is to make a period kit with enough supplies to last someone their entire cycle. We then distribute these kits to other nonprofits in Southern Nevada that serve people with periods. We also have our Finding Marilyn Program which has businesses around town keeping our bags on hand. Our clients can visit their business during their regular business hours and ask for the package Marilyn left for them. We hope this eases the stigma of asking for period supplies while providing them to people who need them.

What sets us apart is that we ONLY put period supplies in our bags. We don’t include things like shampoo, socks, hair ties or candy. There are so many other organizations already providing “hygiene kits” that we feel we need to just stay in our lane.

One of the things I’m most proud of is our packaging. Our logo is my mom’s face and her signature that I kept from her driver’s license. She always wore false eyelashes and nude lipstick so we added that as well. Our bags are intended to look like a gift so quality control is always at its highest level. Just because the bag is “free” doesn’t mean it should be less. Chances are the clients we are serving are already feel low about themselves so we want them to know that we care about them and they are not lesser of a human because they need some help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://projectmarilyn.com/
• Instagram: project.marilyn.lv
• Facebook: projectmarilynlv
• Twitter: @projectmarilyn1