Are you looking for a unique and impactful team-building experience that will not only bring your corporate team, book club, group of friends & family closer but also contribute to a vital social cause? Look no further! We invite you and your team to join us for an educational and engaging two-hour session at our storage facility in Etobicoke, where we tackle the issue of period poverty and work towards menstrual equity. By participating in this event, you will gain valuable insights into an important social issue and also actively contribute to making a difference in your community.

Join our Employee Engagement Packing Party 

Together, you will count, sort, and pack donated materials, preparing them for distribution to local menstruators in need. By engaging in these practical tasks, you will experience the fulfillment that comes from actively making a difference in the lives of others.

During the two-hour session, you will be introduced to the concept of menstrual equity, which goes beyond simply providing products but also aims to ensure that everyone has access to safe, affordable, and appropriate menstrual care. As your team packs period packs, we will shed light on the scope of period poverty, its impact on individuals and communities, and the importance of our mission.

The cost of this team-building experience is $400* (price set to increase Fall 2023), with all fees directly contributing to our mission. Join us on a journey to support menstrual equity and create positive social impact. 

*fee goes directly towards our mission and you’ll receive a charitable tax receipt.

Many people around the world who experience periods are shamed and excluded even though it is a normal bodily function. May 28 is International Menstrual Health* Day (MH Day), an annual day of awareness to address challenges with accessing menstrual products, break taboos and mobilize funding needed to take action. So, how will you commit to menstrual equity this year? Here are some options:

Bloody Great Run 
Our #BloodyGreatRun is a chance to move your body, build a sense of community and make a difference.  Move your body for 28km over any 28 days to raise funds and awareness.
Step 1: Build a team! Invite colleagues, friends and family to participate.
Step 2: Commit to moving for 28 days while raising funds for menstrual equity.

Run a Mini Drive
This Menstrual Health Day, help get period products into the hands of those who need them by organizing a mini drive. Mini Drives are collections of period products or online financial donations which can be big, small. Start your mini drive today with friends and colleagues.

Check out our blog about a group that recently participated in a mini drive here

Donate $15 
A bit short on time? Consider donating $15 to The Period Purse, this will provide a month’s worth of period products to someone who needs them. Financial challenges can limit accessibility for menstruators affected by poverty and your donation can help address this problem by easing barriers to access.  

Your contribution and commitment to menstrual equity is important, it is an opportunity to take action and dedicate yourself to a cause that impacts over 500 million people in this world who menstruate. Dare to commit menstrual equity this year! 
#WeAreCommitted #MHDay2022

*here at The Period Purse, we use the term “health” instead of hygiene to encompass our education around periods, the fight for period equity, and advocacy of policy change.

Periods don’t have to be an uncomfortable topic.  Hi, I’m Shaunna (She/her), new to The Period Purse (TPP).  One of the amazing things that brought me to TPP is the desire to eliminate the stigma associated with periods.    

The topic of periods can often be uncomfortable for menstruators, especially for those who experience extremely painful periods. It becomes more awkward because the pain is difficult to hide and may be debilitating at times which creates anxiety.  Some common worries are: Where will I be when it comes? Will I be in a safe space? Will I have the resources that I need? Will I have to use a sick day again this month?  Increased education for all people can help eliminate the uncertainty that many people experiencing periods face each month.  

My hope is that by contributing in a positive way to TPP, we can continue to eliminate that stigma together, creating a better understanding of what our bodies are going through in those times of need.  Menstruation is a natural process and sometimes requires accommodation from others.  When those accommodations are delivered void of judgment, it makes the process easier.  

We each experience periods differently and it may vary from month to month.  A better understanding that we are not all uniform in our experience helps improve accommodation.

Let’s take a ride and discover what it takes to run mini drives with Queen City Diva’s (QCD). This all-female motorcycle club is made up of, “a diverse group of intelligent, sassy, determined, focused, driven, spicy and delightful women, from all walks of life, religions and races.” 

Tenacious Diva (SJ) and Tinkerbell Diva, event coordinators of the Club, say, “unity drives us, motivation moves us, dedication glues us. The philosophy of this organization is to be dedicated to the service of its members. Our service to each other will allow us to better service our community.”  

This past year, the QCD’s put their philosophy in action by organizing a mini drive for The Period Purse, a unique not-for-profit, as the first of its kind to focus on period poverty in Canada. But why did the QCD’s choose the Period Purse?

QCD member, Tenacious Diva, shares, “I wanted to bring attention to the Queen City Diva’s. By fundraising something that was exceptionally rare, something that was different, something different from the common food, clothing, and toy drive. During my research I came across the Period Purse.” 

“As a female motorcycle club, this tied in with the mission of Queen City Diva’s perfectly - as women we can relate, support, educate and bring awareness to a predominantly male motorcycle community. The Period Purse was a perfect idea” Tenacious Diva continued.

The QCD’s drive was a resounding success! They  attribute the success of their mini drive to their deep connection to their community. 

Sharing posts about the mini-drive on Instagram afforded QCD members the opportunity to connect with motorcycle enthusiasts across the city. Donors were able to drop off product donations at restaurant and community partner, Contigo. For those unable to drop off products  in person, the QCD’s collected monetary donations via the Period Purse’s online donation page. 

The QCD’s mini-drive reminds us how mini drives make room for everyone to contribute, whether you’re donating your time, raising or donating funds, collecting period products or all of the above! 

Mini drives, such as the QCD’s, are integral to the daily operation of the Period Purse as we strive to get period products into the hands of marginalized menstruators who need them. 

While the Period Purse is based in Toronto, mini-drives in support of our organization have been held across Canada, in communities of all shapes and sizes. Mini-drives can be hosted anywhere! 

Our mini-drive program shows us that the sum is always greater than its parts. We all know how community connects and bonds us - there is tremendous power in the companionship we forge raising funds and collecting period products, working towards a single cause. 

I talk about periods a lot, even before I stepped into the position of education coordinator at The Period Purse last September. At parties, book events, in casual conversation—it doesn’t take very long before I start talking about menstrual equity, period products, or period facts I wish I had known years ago. My narrator got her first period in Words That Start With B—my very first kids’ book, published thirteen years ago—something that young readers still email me about to this day—and my next kids’ novel P.S. Tell No One is all about puberty, including frank conversations about periods. I wasn’t always like this. It took years to actively unpack the toxic and shame-driven messages I received about menstruation growing up.

How different things might have been had I access to inclusive, period positive presentations like the ones we offer in The Period Purse’s education program, Menstruation Nation. I love the use of the word ‘nation,’ a reminder that menstruation affects a large, diverse community of people.  This fall, we decided to emphasize the idea of a nation and a community of menstruators by adding more voices to the mix in Periods 101, our introductory module aimed at kids in grades 5-8. Dr. Ullanda Neil MD, CCFP is a family doctor, Dr. Anne Hussain ND is a naturopath and menstrual health advocate , Dr. Erin TeWinkel ND is a naturopath that specializes in working with teens, and Erin Ferrante is an Indigenous Auntie who works with Kenhtè:ke Midwives.  The expertise, personal period stories, and positive outlook of these four professionals bring depth, breadth, and warmth to the module. It is a great source of information and affirmation for kids who are just starting to learn about menstruation.

Thanks to a generous donation, Periods 101, as well as our other education modules directed at youth—Period Poverty and Reusable Period Products—are free for students this year. This is great info to pass along to the teachers, principals, school boards, and youth leaders in your life. These presentations are an excellent supplement to health, sex-ed or social justice curriculum. Sit back and let our trained Menstruation Nation presenters take the lead with up-to-date, period-positive, and inclusive information. In my work with Menstruation Nation, I have learned you’re never too old to learn about menstruation. Maybe your adult group is curious about the environmental impact of period products or is interested in learning about how you can help the people in your community who cannot afford products. Be sure to check out our adult education modules, Advocacy for Period Equity in Canada or Plant Positive Periods: Sustainable Periods from Aisle.

There are two stats from recent studies that both haunt and motivate me in this work. The first is that only 46% of Canadians are comfortable talking about periods, ranking it below politics, sex, and STIs (Let’s Talk Periods Report). That is a shocking number to me. The second stat is that one third of all menstruators in Canada under the age of 25 struggle to afford products (Plan Canada). That’s a lot of people. But we can’t address financial barriers and equity if we’re not comfortable talking about periods in general. It’s 2023, isn’t it time we took that stigma out of menstruation? Educate yourself and offer the gift of education to the young people in your life. Join the Menstruation Nation and become #StigmaFreein23!