Alex Hernández {Courtesy}
By Agrippina Fadel
Whether you’re a car enthusiast eager to admire vintage vehicles or a compassionate neighbor looking to make a difference, the Hygiene Drive and Car Show Community Outreach Day may be your speed.
Held on Saturday, August 12, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Tamarac Sports Complex, the free event includes a vintage car show from the Fort Lauderdale chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America, live music, and food trucks.
The event is a collaboration between Tamarac and the local nonprofit Sirena’s Grotto Inc., committed to providing essential hygiene items to individuals in need.
Residents can help by joining the event and donating toothpaste, shampoo, soap, deodorant, adult diapers, sanitary pads, wipes, and other hygiene items.
Alex Hernández, Founder & CEO of Sirena’s Grotto Inc., said all products will be distributed to homeless shelters and Women in Distress centers. “Residents can also donate money, and it only takes $10 to build a simple hygiene kit of essential products,” she said.
In tenth grade, the Calico Country resident and Coral Glades graduate first became interested in hygiene equity.
“I was in a class called Latinos in Action with about 30 other students, and I was one of the only few born in the U.S. I realized many girls in that class were in some way affected by period poverty,” Hernández said.
After seeing one of her classmates asking permission to go to the nurse every day, she got curious and followed her, only to find out the girl was getting wads of toilet paper from the nurse. “Because of the abstinence curriculum at the time, the school nurses could not give out actual period products. So, our nurse was making makeshift pads for the students.”
Sirena’s Grotto staff and volunteers {Courtesy}
Hernández went home and used her own money to buy period supplies for other girls in school. She got so involved that she had to get a separate backpack for products, and other students started calling her a “girl with a pad.”
Eventually, her entire family got involved, and Hernández first started Period Initiative as part of her Girl Up club in school. In 2022, she founded Sirena’s Grotto after becoming a student at Nova Southeastern University and realizing that income disparity and period poverty were also a reality for college students.
After working with shelters and women’s centers, nonprofit staff realized they needed to expand their efforts to all essential hygiene products that families in need often cannot afford. Now, Sirena’s Grotto staff and volunteers build and distribute hygiene kits with basic items.
Hernández said Commissioner Elvin Villalobos had been a great supporter of the nonprofit from the start, and the city has been very helpful with the logistics and marketing of the Outreach Day, letting as many people as possible know about the event.
“Everybody should have equitable access to hygiene products. We hope the community comes together, has a great time at the event, and joins us in helping vulnerable people in Tamarac and Coral Springs get the most essential items that we may take for granted but they often see as life-changing,” Hernández said.
Tamarac Sports Complex is located at 9901 NW 77th St.
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