Kelsey Chance first made a Plan B Tree at the Yellow Springs Pharmacy after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Now a new Plan B Tree has sprouted at Pennell House, where the nursing station is located on Antioch College's campus.
In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision, some residents of Yellow Springs and surrounding areas began reaching out to Chance and the pharmacy to see what the future of birth control and contraceptives would be.
So, Chance came up with the idea of the Plan B Tree.
The first tree was made from an old sunglasses rack, with free boxes of emergency contraceptives hanging on it.
It provided easy and anonymous access to emergency birth control.
After its creation, Chance began to take in donations.
“I started collecting some donations to help me with the cost of the Plan B, and I raised around $400,” she said. “So I went over last week into the nurse’s building at Antioch College and was able to set up another Plan B Tree there with about 20 free boxes.”
In Pennell House, nurse Michelle Trischler has been using a bookshelf to stock for emergency medications like Narcan.
Now, it’s also serving as the second Plan B Tree. Chance hopes that students at Antioch will stop in and grab a box whenever they need it.
And, if it were up to Chance, trees would continue to grow at other locations.
“I really hope I get to expand it. I would love to make this a nationwide, worldwide type of thing,” she said.
Both Plan B Trees are primarily funded through donations, either of money or of free contraceptives.
You can learn more about the project on its Facebook page.
