WHO
The Period Collective (TPC) is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization providing period products to unhoused and low-income individuals throughout the greater-Chicago area.
HOW
In addition to donating to our cause, there are plenty of ways to get involved with TPC. Whether you have a few hours a week, a month, or a year, we’d love your assistance with fulfilling our mission.
WHAT
TPC provides pads, tampons, liners, wipes, incontinence products, cups, and other reusable menstrual products, and partners with local organizations to distribute these products in homeless shelters, transitional housing facilities, prisons, schools, and food banks.
WHY
Shelters and food banks very rarely receive donations of period products, and there’s a dire need. These products are not covered by SNAP (food stamps). In IL these products are now covered by SNAP! People experiencing homelessness can be left to improvise period products using donated socks or wadded-up toilet paper, and often have limited access to showers and clean bathrooms.
Women Forced to Choose Between Food and Menstrual Products
Chicago native Faustina Beninato is faced with a terrible choice every month: whether to spend her limited income on food or menstrual hygiene products. Temporarily homeless, she roams malls and the Harold Washington Library during the day – where she devotes two hours to job searching – and rides CTA trains at night to avoid […]
Documentary About Menstruation Wins Oscar: ‘I’m Not Crying Because I’m on My Period’
The producers of a film about menstruation got emotional — understandably — during Sunday’s Oscars.
After winning the category for Best Documentary Short at the 2019 Academy Awards for their film Period. End of Sentence., the female producers, including Melissa Berton and Rayka Zehtabchi, took the stage to deliver their acceptance speech.
Read the full article on People.com
When pads are a luxury, getting your period means missing out on life
“Moshi, Tanzania — Every month when payday came around, Suzana Frederick purchased a packet of sanitary pads. It was the first thing she bought. And when her period started, she knew she was ready for it. The 19-year-old single mother from Arusha, Tanzania, was making 30,000 shillings ($13) a month as a housekeeper and would spend […]