We get free period and menstrual health supplies to refugees, asylum-seekers and those who can’t afford or access them.
We believe 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.
In 2022 we provided 119,000+ packs of menstrual products, meaning that people had one less thing to bloody worry about!
Why is it so bleeding important?
Everyone deserves a bloody good period, regardless of how much money they have. Our Ops team works hard to remove the barriers that prevent people getting vital period products they need.
We know that having a regular flow of menstrual products is really bleeding important. How? Our community partners told us so!
"Please thank the people who give us these pads. They are making our stress less and our happiness flow."
Service recipient from Meeting Point Leeds
“Women would not leave their hotel or home when menstruating if not for the pads and tampons that BGP provide.”
West London Welcome
“We appreciate all your donations you have given women back the confidence to go out and live without fear of their natural bodily occurrence each month. Thank you for being there.”
Manchester Refugee Support Network
Our community partners have told us that having a free supply of period products helped to:
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Remove a significant expense for people who menstruate
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Improve wellbeing by reducing the stress, worry and shame that can come from having limited financial resources, as well as dealing with practicalities of heavy blood loss, irregular cycles and leaking through clothing.
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Make people feel valued and dignified, as people can care for their bodies and health concerns such as heavy bleeding.
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Reduce isolation for some people who were now able to go outside.
How do we bloody do it?
We partner with organisations across England and Wales, as it's the easiest way to reach people who are struggling to afford or access products. This way of working centres and activities they already attend such as food banks, drop-in services and peer support groups. That's why our community partners are so bloody important to us!
Our superstar partners help us to:
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Provide a range of high-quality disposable and reusable period products, so people can choose what works best for them and their bodies
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Holding workshops for community partners. Where partners can learn about period products and eradicate period stigma to Eradicate period stigma after taking part in workshops about period products and periods
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Share best practices about delivering period products so that every partner is creating a safe and accessible space for *everyone*
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Collect feedback to improve the experience of the people we work with and improve our service deliver
A regular flow of products
We provide a range of eleven (and counting!) high-quality disposable and reusable products of different brands, sizes and absorbencies to people who cannot afford or access them
We aim to be sustainable where we can, but as strong advocates of bodily autonomy, we prioritise the needs and products that are requested by recipients. We provide:
Disposables
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Day pads
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Day maxi pads
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Night pads
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Night maxi pads
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Pantyliners
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Maternity pads
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Non-applicator tampons
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Applicator tampons
Reusables
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Menstrual cups
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Menstrual sponges
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Menstrual pants
Our curated Product Guide, which is available online for all community partners, contains illustrations of all products with descriptions of how they are used and shares information about possible concerns for each product.
Just an FYI babes!
We no longer accept physical donations of period products.
If you have (unopened, in-date) period products to donate, please contact your local food bank to see if they can accept them.
We do accept brand donations if they are able to meet certain criteria and can deliver directly to our partners. Please email us with details of what you can offer – thank you.
If you want to support our work, please DONATE! Your pounds will get turned into period essentials.
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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.
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