Our organization #HappyPeriod historically focused on the distribution of supplies for menstruating people. Impacting over 100,000 periods per year since 2015, we’re proud to be leaders within the global menstrual movement. The pandemic challenged us to redirect our focus to education and content creation. At the top of the year we launched our education program centered on menstrual health and self-esteem. Within the program we host period care pop-ups and menstrual health workshops for underserved communities, that are predominately Black + Brown. We also released a free and accessible period workbook called SELF. The purpose of SELF is to increase menstrual education and reduce period stigma, especially for those getting their period for the first time. Access and education, go hand and hand when we’re discussing menstrual equity. I think it’s vital to share as much information as possible to folks with periods in order to empower them to make their own decisions for their body. This is why we decided to build a curriculum that supports menstrual health education for schools, educators, and parents. Challenge institutions to change how they service and support their students that have started their menstrual journey.
What can you do to combat period poverty during a global pandemic? We highly encourage you to look at your own community to see what change you can directly affect. Figure out where and what are the needs of local charitable organizations. Specifically for #HappyPeriod, the direct need is funding. The capital to hire staff and facilitators, and operate in this new space we’ve had to pivot to. It’s important for me as the leader of this organization to financially empower the people that drive our programming. The staff, ambassadors, facilitators, and volunteers that support our initiatives continue to empower our north star goal, which is to advance the period care of Black and Brown folks with periods and destigmatize menstruation. All of our content is purpose-driven and original. We want to continue using our platform to educate and empower.
