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WE FIGHT FOR PERIOD EQUITY. BECAUSE EVERYONE DESERVES A BLOODY GOOD PERIOD.

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ABOUT US

Menstrual supplies are not cheap, but for anyone with a period, they are, of course, an absolute necessity. 

Sadly, the reality is that they're a luxury that many refugees and asylum seekers living in the UK cannot afford. Many people living in poverty resort to using toilet paper, old scraps of fabric or nothing at all. 
 

Bloody Good Period was started by Gabby Edlin, who decided something needed to be done to create a sustainable flow (pun intended) of menstrual products for those who can't afford to buy them. What started as a whip-round on Facebook is now a growing charity, with a vision to achieve menstrual equity - where the simple fact of bleeding doesn't stop anyone from participating fully in society, or life. 

 

We are now partnered with 100 organisations around the country, helping more women and people who menstruate have bloody good periods.

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OUR VISION

Recognising the trauma and anxiety caused by not having access to essential menstrual products; our vision is of a society in which asylum seekers, refugees and otherwise displaced people and their dependents have unrestricted access to high quality, free period supplies of their choice. 

We believe that this responsibility should not fall on charities such as ourselves, but as part of a government strategy that cares for women and people who menstruate, especially those living in poverty.

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OUR VALUES

We believe that:

 

  • The UK has a legal and moral obligation to provide safe, welcoming, humane asylum to people fleeing violence and persecution
     

  • Facilitating the personal choices and comfort of the people we work with is paramount
     

  • 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
     

  • Disruption and challenge to the status quo is essential to achieving our vision
     

  • We are at our best when we are inter-sectional; inclusive and diverse
     

  • It is critical that we aim to be sustainable in what we do, ensuring products are reliably and regularly available for people who need them so that a relationship of trust is built up, and people can be confident that their menstrual needs will be taken care of. 

 

  • We always prioritise the needs and preferences of the women and people with whom we work, which for a variety of cultural and practical reasons tend to be for disposable periods products. 

 

  • We also recognise the negative environmental impact of the plastic content of those products, and where appropriate, seek to appropriately introduce more sustainable options, and all required support to use those options, with a view to playing our part in reducing the environmental impact of period products. Our priority will remain meeting the needs of the people with whom we work, in a way that works for them.

Bloody Good Period aims to no longer exist, particularly in regards to our delivery of products. While we acknowledge that there will be a longer term demand for our education and employers programmes, we believe that providing period products to people who need them should be the responsibility of the government and businesses, not charities.

MEET THE TEAM

All working safely at home/living on Zoom RN

Gabby Edlin: CEO & Founder
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Emma Defoe: Operations & Activism Manager
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Nikki Iyayi: Operations Associate
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Rachel Grocott: Director of Communications and Public Fundraising
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Terri Harris: Menstrual Sexual and Reproductive Health Manager.
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Seyi Falodun-Liburd: Leadership Development Programme Lead.
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Joe Gray: Employers Programme Lead.
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Dora Roberts: Team Virtual Assistant.
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Becca Liversidge: Social Media Manager.
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Becca Liversidge

Social Media Manager

Dora Roberts

Team Virtual Assistant

Joe Gray

Employers

Programme Lead

Seyi Falodun-Liburd

Leadership Development Programme Lead

Nikki Iyayi

Operations Associate

Terri Harris

Menstrual Sexual and Reproductive Health Manager

Emma Defoe

Operations & Activism Manager

Rachel Grocott

Director of Communications & Public Fundraising

Gabby Edlin

CEO & Founder

 

OUR BLOODY AMAZING TRUSTEES

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Ruby Bayley

Trustee

(Fundraising)

Sue Rubenstein

Trustee

(Chair)

Fiona Yeung

Trustee &

Treasurer

 

Frequently asked questions

WHO RECEIVES THE DONATIONS?

We work with over 100 partner organisations across England and Wales, getting period products to refugees, aslyum-seekers and those who can't afford or access them.



HOW DO I SUPPORT YOU?

Colddddd harrdddd cash honey! Seriously though. It takes £££ to buy products and get them to where they're needed, especially since the impact of the pandemic has driven demand up massively. 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. 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, 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.*



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 is 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 in the last year in particular. 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 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.*



I WANT TO HELP! HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?

We would bloody love you to! Check out the options here!



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.*



DO BGP DO ANYTHING BEYOND DISTRIBUTING PERIOD PRODUCTS?

Damn right we do! We raise awareness of period poverty and how it affects women and people who menstruate living in poverty (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). We run education sessions for asylum seekers, refugees, and people that cannot normally access it. We're setting up a programme to help workplaces be Bloody Good Employers. Yep, we are all bloody over it.



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 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!



HOW DO YOU SPEND DONATIONS?

Where we give examples 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 Take What You Need programme, and staff costs to make the logistics, partnerships and magic happen. We prioritise 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. 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.



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 workplans, as well as ensuring interns gain valuable work experience and development opportunities within an intersectional feminist, activist organisation. We are unable to accept speculative applications.



WHY DON'T YOU ACCEPT PHYSICAL PRODUCT DONATIONS ANYMORE?

Because we've changed our way of working, babes! In the last 18 months we've refined a way of working that's helped us meet much higher levels of demand (compared to pre-Covid), and now we're making a permanent switch to that model. This updated way of working is a brilliant way of working because….well, in short, because we can get 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 - including no storage space cost - so more money for more pads honey! 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!