Period Poverty Awareness Week 2024 Provides Opportunities for Education and Action

Period Poverty Awareness Week runs from May 20 - 28, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, May 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Anyone who menstruates needs period supplies to stay healthy and participate in daily life. Yet, 2 in 5 people in the US struggle to afford them. That’s a public health crisis known as period poverty.

On Monday, May 20, 2024, the Alliance for Period Supplies kicks off its annual Period Poverty Awareness Week to spotlight this issue. The week, which marks the 6th anniversary of the Alliance for Period Supplies, concludes on Tuesday, May 28 with the celebration of World Menstrual Hygiene Day.

This year the emphasis will be on period poverty and students. Period supplies are school supplies, and without them many students miss out on their education. According to the State of the Period 2021 survey, one in four menstruating teens have struggled to afford period supplies. Three in five students say they rarely or never find free period products in school bathrooms. Alliance for Period Supplies allied programs address this by providing free supplies in restrooms in partnership with elementary and secondary schools (76% of members) as well as community colleges and four-year universities (45% of members).

“Some people still believe that period poverty doesn’t happen in the United States,” said Joanne Samuel Goldblum, CEO National Diaper Bank Network | Alliance for Period Supplies. “It does – and people miss work and school because of it. Our allied members are doing a phenomenal job of partnering with schools and other community-based organizations to stop period poverty from hurting students.”

Among the activities planned for the week include: a convening with U.S. Reps. Grace Meng and Sean Casten, champions of bills addressing period poverty; a virtual screening of “Long Line of Ladies,” a documentary that follows a 13-year-old girl, as she and her family prepare to celebrate her first period with a traditional coming-of-age ceremony, the Ihuk Flower Dance; and letter-writing campaigns to advance legislation that increases access to menstrual supplies.

Here's how to participate. Visit https://allianceforperiodsupplies.org/ppaw/#events to learn more and to register for the following events that are open to the public:

- Period Poverty Awareness Week Kick-off Event with Reps. Meng and Casten, on Monday, May 20 at 11 a.m. (ET).

- Attend a screening of “A Long Line of Ladies, Wednesday, May 22, at 7 p.m. (ET). This 22-minute documentary screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Eva Marie Carney, founder of The Kwek Society, an allied program working to end period poverty in Indigenous communities, and Nicolette Harutunian at The Pad Project, a global nonprofit increasing access to menstrual products and collaborator on Long Line of Ladies.

- Join in a letter-writing campaign for three federal bills aiming to fight period poverty.

In addition, individuals and organizations across the country will participate: by hosting distribution events and/or product drives; elevating awareness of period poverty via social media; and advocating for changes in public policy to ensure equitable access to period supplies.

Since its founding in 2018, the Alliance for Period Supplies has expanded its membership to include more than 140+ allied programs, each an independent nonprofit organization, working in 41 states and the District of Columbia. Today, Alliance for Period Supplies is among the leading organizations working to end period poverty in the US. In addition to building a vibrant network, the organization works with other national partners to promote legislation to: end the tampon tax; provide free period products in all public school restrooms; make period products as freely available as toilet paper in all restrooms of public buildings; provide free period products in prisons and jails; and fund sustainable, community-based period distribution programs.

About the Alliance for Period Supplies

The Alliance for Period Supplies is an initiative of the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN)—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that leads a nationwide movement aimed at helping individuals and families who struggle to afford material basic needs. Launched in May 2018, with the support of founding sponsor U by Kotex^®, the Alliance for Period Supplies raises national awareness of period poverty (#endperiodpoverty) and supports the development and expansion of period supply programs in communities throughout the country. The organization is composed of allied members that collect, warehouse and distribute menstrual/period supplies in local communities. More information on Alliance for Period Supplies is available at allianceforperiodsupplies.org, and on Twitter and Instagram (@periodsupplies) and Facebook (facebook.com/AllianceForPeriodSupplies).

Sydney Phillips
National Diaper Bank Network | Alliance for Period Supplies
+1 203-658-7340
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
TikTok