How it started:
In autumn 2016, Gabby Edlin volunteered at a drop-in centre for refugees and asylum seekers, asked where the period products were, and got (kindly) told that those items were only given out in ‘emergencies’. She set about collecting pads - and the rest is bloody history.
How it’s going:
Five years of getting pads to people who need them
Over 170,000 packs of period products distributed
From a single personal Facebook post, to nearly 60K Instagram followers
From just Gabby to a small but mighty team, and network of committed volunteers
From piles of pads (which btw are still vital) to a vision of menstrual equity:
Delivery of products to those who can’t afford or access them, via sustainable, long-term relationships with 100+ partners across England & Wales
Education sessions on vital reproductive and menstrual health topics (Bloody Good Education)
Normalising periods in the workplace (Bloody Good Employers)
Normalising periods, for everybody (#PeriodTalk)
Doing it all with an inclusive, intersectional lens.
As we mark five whole bloody years, the need for what we do isn’t going anywhere. We’ve already met a hugely increased level of demand during the pandemic, distributing over 100,000 packs of products since March 2020. Now partners - including Bow Food Bank, Bethnal Green Food Bank, Knaphill Community Fridge, Hornsey Foodbank, Meeting Point, and the Loughborough and Jubilee Centre - are advising us of a further increase in need, as the financial impact of Covid continues to bite and cuts to Universal Credit take effect. In addition we’re supporting newly arrived refugees from Afghanistan - for example, in the last week we’ve sent 459 packs of menstrual products to West London Welcome, which will go on to support 150 individuals from Afghanistan.
We don’t want to exist, but right now we most definitely bloody need to.
If you can support us with a donation, we would be hugely bloody grateful.