Period Promise 2021 Campaign Brings in Over 71,405 Pieces of Period Product

Last year’s Period Promise campaign was a huge success, with over 21,000 products donated to nine agencies in our region.

For 2021, we set out on the mission to have an even bigger impact on period poverty, and we are blown away by the results.

This year, we received over 35,400 period products — with even more to come — and over $5,000 in donations which is the equivalent of roughly $36,000 products for a grand total of over 71,405.

Each and every one of these products will be hand delivered to a local organization that supports people who menstruate in our community, but who may experience barriers to purchasing the period products they need. These agencies include:

• Ask Wellness – SHOP Program
• Interior Community Services – Youth Outreach
• Boys and Girls Club – Youth Hampers
• Elizabeth Fry Society – Stepping Stones
• Salvation Army
• Canadian Mental Health Association – Emerald House
• The Tree

We will be able to support the feminine hygiene needs of 2,856 people through Period Promise 2021 (with donations still coming in). We would not have been able to have made such a profound impact without the unwavering support of our local businesses who stepped up to collect menstrual products at their workplaces, all the caring individuals who donated, Kamloops Alliance Church, and our generous local sponsors: Campbell & Schreurs CPA Inc. and Women of Steel. Thank you for taking action against period poverty with us in our community!

On the heels of such a successful campaign, we are more determined than ever to continue working towards true menstrual equity in our community. We know that 26 per cent of people who menstruate in B.C. say they had gone through a period without having menstrual products available to them. We also know that we can do better.

We love to imagine a world where basic menstrual products are provided in public washrooms wherever you go – just like toilet paper. If you would like to continue working on this goal with us, reach out to get involved and take the period pledge.

“Even in a pandemic year our community rises to the challenge and meets the needs of others. Thank you to everyone who donated, to Kamloops Alliance for your facility and contribution, to the businesses who acted as collection sites, our sponsors and to the incredible volunteers who made this a roaring success. Our work to improve the lives of others is only possible when it’s done united.”

– Katie Neustaeter, Executive Director, United Way BC

Periods are a fact of life, but access to necessary menstrual products can be challenging. United Way has done the research in the Period Promise Final Report and here’s the proof:

• 26% of people who menstruate in B.C. say they had gone through a period without having menstrual products available to them.
• 18% of respondents missed school and 22% missed work without necessary menstrual products.
• More than 95% of community organizations are asked by their clientele if they provide free menstrual products or know where they can be found.

One report respondent said, “When I can’t afford enough menstrual products, I can’t go out. I was unable to go to the food bank or to a casual job (I’m disabled) because I bled for two weeks and didn’t have enough pads.”

Furthermore, over 50% of United Way’s community partners indicated an increase in demand on their services because of COVID and nearly 45% of them indicated an increased demand for free menstrual products at their organization. United Way’s Period Promise campaign aims to fill that gap by collecting products that help strengthen vital connections in the community.

The 2021 Period Promise campaign was proudly presented by Pacific Blue Cross.

* Statistics from the United Way Period Promise Research Project Final Report.

> PERIOD PROMISE CAMPAIGN DETAILS:
https://www.periodpromise.ca/collections/help-end-period-poverty-give-today.

About United Way’s Period Promise

Period Promise is a United Way initiative. The Period Promise Campaign has generated approximately 1.2 million donated menstrual products from 2017 to 2020. The campaign also inspired organizations to adopt a policy to provide menstrual products in their facilities, while de-stigmatizing menstruation and raising awareness of period poverty. For more information, go to www.periodpromise.ca