Concord-Carlisle High School’s Girl Up club has worked closely with state Rep. Andrew Cataldo to advocate for the “I AM Bill,” which would ensure access to free menstrual products in public institutions across Massachusetts. (Photo Courtesy Concord-Carlisle Regional School District)
CONCORD — Through their advocacy work with state Rep. Andrew Cataldo and League of Women Voters of Concord-Carlisle (LWVCC), Concord-Carlisle High School’s (CCHS) Girl Up club is empowering, educating and uplifting women in their community.
For four years, seniors Maya Soto and April Tang have worked to create change through CCHS’s Girl Up chapter. The female empowerment club, which has chapters in 155 countries, unites students to create a more equitable world through advocacy, fundraising, storytelling and organizing.
Now co-presidents, April and Maya are leading the club’s efforts to educate and advocate for women’s rights. Since joining Girl Up four years ago, the pair have educated and empowered women in their community through voter registration and menstrual equity events and drives, meeting with state representatives and hosting female speakers. In recent years, the club has also learned about the legislative process, including how to track a bill and view its progress.
One of the club’s longest-running projects is their mission to get the “I AM Bill” passed.
An Act to Increase Access to Menstrual Products in Prisons, Homeless Shelters and Public Schools (H.534 & S.1381), or the “I AM Bill,” would ensure access to free menstrual products, without stigma, in public schools, homeless shelters, prisons and county jails across Massachusetts.
Maya and April have worked closely with state Rep. Simon Cataldo and the LWVCC, which encourages women to vote through education and advocacy, to advocate for the bill’s passing.
The group first met with Rep. Cataldo in April 2023 to bring the bill to his attention and learn ways to advocate for its passing. Over multiple meetings, the club asked him to become a co-sponsor, developed a subcommittee to track the bill’s progress and discussed key issues that have prevented the bill from being passed in the House, including the lack of finances to support it.
“The Girl Up club is able to get the attention of our representatives because of our members who show up to club meetings, help with the research of the bill and come up with questions, and because we have the support of the League of Women Voters, as well as teachers and administrators,” said April. “I’m proud of all the work we’ve done to get the bill to the point it is at now, but I also feel like there is so much more progress to be made.”
Along with their advocacy for menstrual equity, the club is also heavily involved with women’s voting rights. Members have worked closely with the LWVCC on various projects, both separate and related to the “I AM Bill.”
Girl Up approached the LWVCC in the fall of 2025 to learn how to effectively push to pass the “I AM Bill,” and the league attended the club’s second meeting with Rep. Cataldo.
As they continue fighting for the “I AM Bill,” Girl Up looks for other bills that support menstrual equity. After learning that Rep. Cataldo is involved with a bill that would include diapers in the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the club plans to email Rep. Cataldo and ask him to write a bill for the next session allowing menstrual products to be provided by WIC and SNAP.
Although the “I AM Bill” has not been passed into legislation yet, the club believes that this session is the closest it has been to passing. It has been repeatedly and unanimously passed in the Senate, but has not yet successfully passed through the House. At times, club members have felt frustrated by the length of time it has taken to get to this point, but they understand that their actions have had an impact, even if the results are not immediate.
“Something that I’ve learned is how easy it actually is to advocate for legislation,” said Maya. “Before this work, it seemed like the state legislature was pretty separate from my everyday life. But this work has taught me how easy it is to make a difference through emails and advocacy work. Through working with Rep. Cataldo, we learned that even actions that seem kind of small, like emailing, can actually have a big impact on what legislation passes. Seeing that our voices could help create this new bill was really inspiring.”
Chemistry teacher Cricket McCaffrey-Clark has served as the club’s faculty advisor since its first meeting.
“I have found it to be an inspiring experience from the beginning,” said McCaffrey-Clark. “Week in and week out the girls show up on Tuesday mornings before school and work on different issues and events that help them to serve as leaders and role models. Sincerely, I see these girls as an impressive group of young women who are aware of their privilege and trying to genuinely make a difference.”
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Senior April Tang presents research on the “I AM Bill” to state Rep. Cataldo and the Girl Up club. (Photo Courtesy Concord-Carlisle Regional School District)
The League of Women Voters of Concord-Carlisle participate in a Girl Up club meeting. (Photo Courtesy Concord-Carlisle Regional School District)