OUR VISION
A world built for women and people who menstruate,
so that everybody benefits.
OUR MISSION
We fight for menstrual equity and the rights of all women and people who bleed, so that no one is held back by their period or society's
warped perception of the menstruating body.
OUR VALUES
We believe that:
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Everybody should be able to care for their period in a way that works for them, and have the products, information and support they need (aka - everybody deserves a bloody good period)
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We shouldn’t have to exist. This need should be factored into our society, including government provision, especially for the most vulnerable
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The UK has a legal and moral obligation to provide safe, welcoming, humane asylum to people fleeing violence and persecution. The fact that this welcome is instead a deliberately and increasingly hostile environment means that we our work focuses on refugees and asylum seekers as a priority
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Facilitating the personal choices and comfort of the people we work with is paramount. We empower and educate people on the options available to them, but ultimately prioritise their choice
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It is critical that we aim to be sustainable in what we do, offering reusable products where possible and appropriate for the people we work with, whilst never burdening the people most affected but least responsible for climate change
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We have the most impact when we work collaboratively and creatively as part of a network of organisations and individuals with shared goals and values
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Disruption and challenge to the status quo is essential to achieving our vision
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We are at our best when we are intersectional, inclusive, diverse, anti-racist and decolonial, with self-care embedded in all that we do.
MEET THE TEAM
We have a small but mighty core staff team, and work with ace freelancers on key projects.
Rachel Grocott
CEO
Elysha Paige
Commercial & Development Director
Naz Toorabally
Education & Operations Manager
Talycia Nayee
Bloody Good Employers Programme Manager
Heather Moss
Fundraising Manager
Samba Hardi Adam
Finance Manager
Jo Atkins-Potts
Head of Communications & Campaigns
Scarlett Langdon
Communications Officer
Aaliyah Kelly-Hibbert
Campaigns Officer
WITH FAB FREELANCE SUPPORT FROM:
Joe Gray
Employers Programme Lead
Michelle McIntosh:
Trust and Foundation Bid-writer
Amina Kadogo
Team VA
Seyi Falodun-Liburd
Leadership Development Programme Lead
Hannah Underwood
Community Engagement Officer
OUR FOUNDER
Gabby Jahanshahi-Edlin
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Gabby started Bloody Good Period in 2016, when she found out that very few food banks and asylum seeker drop-in centres were providing period products—despite an obvious, desperate need. She successfully developed BGP from a Facebook whip-round for products to a growing, trailblazing charity.
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After nearly six years of running BGP, Gabby stepped down in May 2022, handing over to her previous deputy, Rachel Grocott.
OUR BLOODY AMAZING TRUSTEES
Ruby Bayley
Fundraising Trustee
Sue Rubenstein
Trustee
(Chair)
Lisa Cranston
Trustee
& Treasurer
Fiona Yeung
Trustee &
Treasurer
Shakiba Moghadam
Trustee
Melissa Gardner
Healthcare Trustee
OUR AMBASSADORS
A bunch of bloody legends, spreading the BGP word
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HOW DO I SUPPORT YOU?Colddddd harrdddd cash honey! Seriously though. It takes £££ to buy products and get them to where they're needed - did you know we deliver 119.4K packs of products last year? We do it by bulk-buying the products requested by our partners (more on that below), direct from suppliers, and delivering them to partners in England and Wales. This way of working enables us to maximise the number of people we can help. Oh yeah, and we also deliver some bloody incredible education sessions on menstrual, sexual and reproductive health which we couldn’t deliver without your support. You can be bloody awesome and donate here, or find out about organising a little (or big!) fundraiser here. You can also read more about our new way of working here. THANK YOU. *Please remember, we now have a pad-to-partner way of working, so we're unable to accept any physical donations of any products. Please don't send us any, thanks ever so.*
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HOW DO YOU SPEND DONATIONS?Where we give examples of how your donations can help (e.g. here), those examples are based on: Period products. We've taken an average of costs for the different product combinations that are most frequently requested by our partners. We bulk buy and negotiate some great bleeding discounts. Other costs to make our distribution happen. That includes transporting the products to where they're needed, storage costs for our reusable products, and staff costs to make the logistics, partnerships and magic happen. That magic includes…. Building sustainable, long-term relationships, so we can be sure to get period products to where they're needed, when they're needed - i.e. every single bloody month Supporting our partners with guides on period products and how to talk about menstruation, so we can better support the individual choice and autonomy of the people who receive products from us. We also run education sessions, getting menstrual, sexual and reproductive health information to those less likely to access it, and work to normalise periods for everybody, so your donations can also help us to do that bloody important stuff too.
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WHO RECEIVES THE DONATIONS?We work with over 100 partner organisations across England and Wales, getting period products to refugees, asylum-seekers and those who can't afford or access them. Our partners include foodbanks, Refugee and Asylum groups, and many more... Last year our education program reached 113 refugees and asylum seekers to access better menstrual health knowledge throughout England.
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WHY DON'T YOU ACCEPT PHYSICAL PRODUCT DONATIONS ANYMORE?Because we've changed our way of working, babes! We've refined a way of working that's helped us meet much higher levels of demand in a more efficient way, getting more products out to more people, across a bigger geographical area! Those products are also the ones SPECIFICALLY requested by the people we work with—guaranteed to be brand new and in-date. This model also means we have reduced costs on things like storage -so more money for more pads honey! You can read more about our new way of working here. You can also be bloody awesome and donate here, or find out about organising a little (or big!) fundraiser here. THANK YOU!
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WHAT ABOUT MENSTRUAL CUPS, PERIOD PANTS AND WASHABLE PADS?Bloody Good Period provides period products to refugees, asylum seekers and those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford or access them. We have always prioritised the needs of the people we work with, trusting them to know which period products they prefer to use, or would like to try. We are mostly asked for disposable products, and we have increasingly included eco-friendly products in that provision. We also distribute menstrual cups, reusable pads and period pants. We have also been able to provide more information and support to those who would like to try reusable products, via our menstrual, sexual and reproductive health education sessions. We find that group support, expert knowledge and space to ask questions are often vital - it’s not just about giving out as many cups as we can, but allowing people to understand and work with their bodies in an entirely different way. We are pleased to have been able to distribute a growing volume of reusable products. We have always recognised that there is no one way to manage everyone’s periods or one magic solution to period poverty. As a small and growing charity, we also always planned to provide the right support to enable a greater switch to reusables over time, and are thrilled that this change is now happening - whilst also maintaining our focus on meeting the needs of the women and people we work with. Reusable products are not suitable for everyone, or a universal solution to period poverty. For example, refugees and asylum seekers generally live in accommodation without reliable access to lockable bathrooms to be able to practice using cups; or reliable washing facilities to keep cups or reusable pads clean. Many have also suffered trauma, at minimum displacement and the journey to reach this country, but possibly also including FGM, which makes using cups difficult or impossible. Our absolute focus, therefore, is always on getting women and people who menstruate the products they are familiar with and feel comfortable with. If you want to learn more, have a listen to our founder Gabby talking about product preference on Reni Eddo-Lodge’s About Race podcast. *Please remember, our way of working has now changed, so we're unable to accept any physical donations of any products. Please don't send us any, thanks ever so.*
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WHAT ABOUT TAMPONS?Tampons are simply not as popular as pads with the people we work with. We only give away about 1 pack of tampons for every 500 packs of pads! *Please remember, our way of working has now changed, so we're unable to accept any physical donations of any products. Please don't send us any, thanks ever so.*
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DO BGP DO ANYTHING BEYOND DISTRIBUTING PERIOD PRODUCTS?Damn, right we do! We run education sessions for asylum seekers, refugees, and people that cannot normally access it. We support workplace menstrual equity through our Bloody Good Employers program. We raise awareness of menstrual inequity and how it affects women and people who menstruate (read our report here). We talk about periods, helping to make them a normal, comfortable topic of conversation for everyone (check out our social feeds). And we campaign for real, meaningful change. Yep, we are all bloody over it.
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I WANT TO HELP! HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?We would bloody love you to! Right now we need your help more than ever in getting pads and products to people who need them. We're seeing an ever-increasing demand for our services and we need £££ to support our work. You can be bloody awesome and donate here, or find out about organising a little (or big!) fundraiser here. THANK YOU.
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DOES BGP WORK IN SCHOOLS?We don't work with schools or colleges, so, unfortunately, are unable to provide products or other support to these institutions. The Government's scheme to provide free period products to all English schools scheme has now launched - find further guidance here. We know this scheme doesn’t go bloody far enough in meeting the needs of all young people so we’re supporting young activists, and organisations to raise their voice! We are delighted that so many schools are passionate about ending period poverty and are keen to fundraise for us - and we've made a special fundraising pack for you! Here it is!
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DO YOU OFFER INTERNSHIPS / WORK PLACEMENTS?We work with other organisations, including academic institutions, to recruit interns to join the BGP team. These internships are always paid. As we are a small team, we only have capacity to work with a very limited number of interns each year. Internship projects always align with our organisational objectives and work plans, as well as ensure interns gain valuable work experience and development opportunities within an intersectional feminist, activist organisation. We are unable to accept speculative applications.