FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2009
Contact:
Kathy Pickus, Owner
Dot Girl Products
425-879-3995
Seattle, WA; September 1, 2009 – Dot Girl Products™, a leading retailer of first menstrual period kits for pre-teen girls, announces their partnership with Best Bones Forever!, a national campaign led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health.
“We are excited to be in a position to help promote bone health in young girls,” says Kathy Pickus, co-owner of Dot Girl Products. “We will be supporting the campaign through our website at www.dotgirlproducts.com along with including campaign literature in our shipping boxes to customers”.
The goal of Best Bones Forever! is to encourage girls to get more calcium and vitamin D and physical activity to help build strong bones for life. Osteoporosis is often called a “pediatric disease with geriatric consequences.” In girls, close to 90 percent of bone mass is built by age 18.
“We want girls to know that if you’re older than nine, now’s your time!” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Building strong bones now will help you stand tall for a lifetime.”
Best Bones Forever! focuses on friendship and how girls can help each other build strong bones through bone-healthy foods and physical activities—girls who “grow strong together, stay strong forever.” The campaign includes a Web site designed just for girls at http://www.bestbonesforever.gov as well as one for parents at http://www.bestbonesforever.gov/parents.
The campaign launched nationally on September 1st in North Las Vegas, one of three sites in the Best Bones Forever! Community Pilot Program. Teen participants received Dot Girl “What’s Normal” bookmarks with practical information on managing their periods.
Dot Girl Products offers products and resources that help parents comfortably talk to and reassure their young daughters about menstruation. Founded by sisters Terri Goodwin and Kathy Pickus, the company helps ease parents into an often difficult conversation and creates empowered young women who have a positive first period experience. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Seattle, Washington. Visit us at www.dotgirlproducts.com or call 425-879-3995.
The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) was established in 1991. OWH coordinates the efforts of all the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ agencies and offices involved in women’s health. The office works to improve the health and well-being of women and girls in the United States through its programs, by educating health professionals and motivating behavior change in consumers through the dissemination of health information. Contact Valerie Scardino at 1-202-205-0270 or Valerie.scardino@hhs.gov.