Get Involved: Menstruation through Menopause

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To get involved with activism around menstruation, menopause, and women’s health and equity, our content experts recommend that you explore the following organizations. These recommendations are not necessarily endorsements, since organizations can change over time, and it’s important to find a group that fits your values.

 

Endo Black, Inc.

Endo Black, Inc. is a Black-women-led organization advocating for African American women and women of color affected by endometriosis. They provide resources such as discussion spaces and support groups to help combat the struggles that Black women and women of color face in attempting to seek help for endometriosis and its symptoms.

 

endoQueer

endoQueer provides endometriosis support for the LGBTQIA+ community. They aim to build a community of support and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people with “angry body parts,” by offering resources including a Facebook group for discussion and community support and a newsletter with information and tips for patients and caregivers.

 

The Kwek Society

The Kwek Society is an Indigenous woman-founded and an Indigenous-women-led nonprofit that supports the dignity and health of Indigenous students and community members across North America and celebrates their “moon times” (also known as periods) by providing period supplies and puberty education materials. They support schools, community-based organizations and Native Nation partners. As part of their message of dignity and celebration, The Kwek Society shares traditional teachings about puberty and periods. Period support is a monthly, and expensive, obligation! Volunteers are needed to conduct period supplies drives and to donate tampons, pads, liners, and cotton underwear. You can find all the ways to help on The Kwek Society website. If you are part of, or know about, an Indigenous community that needs period support, please reach out to The Kwek Society for help.

 

I Support the Girls

I Support the Girls collects and distributes essential items, including bras, underwear, and menstrual hygiene products, allowing women and folx experiencing homelessness, impoverishment, or distress to stand tall with dignity. Volunteers can conduct drives and collections, or they can participate in the work of cleaning, sorting, and/or delivering essential items to people in need.

 

Ladies of Hope Ministries

Ladies of Hope Ministries is an organization working to support women and girls who are impacted by the criminal legal system. They offer resources for formerly incarcerated people to re-enter society, including food deliveries, access to reproductive care, and the Hope House, an independent living space for women impacted by trauma.

 

Love Your Menses

Love Your Menses offers an educational, uplifting, and supportive space for Black and Brown girls, women, and all people who menstruate to learn about the menstrual cycle and create innovative public health solutions. In addition to their youth-geared period tracker app, their work includes distributing menstrual products and providing menstrual wellness workshops in the community, driven by volunteers like you.

 

Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition

The Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition is a group of menstrual activists, advocacy organizations, non profits, businesses, and public servants who’ve come together to end period poverty statewide. Their current priorities include raising consciousness around menstruation and urging Massachusetts legislators to pass the I AM bill to combat period poverty in the Commonwealth.

 

Menopause Café

A Menopause Café is an event where people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss menopause in an accessible, respectful, and confidential space. You can find upcoming Menopause Cafés on their website, or sign up to host one yourself.

 

Menstrual Health Hub

The Menstrual Health Hub is the world’s first digital networking and knowledge platform that unites and strengthens the global menstrual community with a goal of building a collection of shared knowledge to better understand the landscape of menstrual health.

 

No More Secrets

No More Secrets is a grassroots sexuality awareness organization working to fight period poverty and stigma by promoting open communication and delivering feminine hygiene products door-to-door in the PA-NJ-DE tri-state area and by mail nationwide.

 

Period Law

Period Law is an organization of lawyers fighting for tax-free, toxin-free, environmentally-sustainable menstrual products that are freely available to everyone who needs them. They are fighting to end the tampon tax in all 50 states; so far, they’ve succeeded in 14 and have 26 to go.

 

PERIOD.

PERIOD. is a youth-fueled nonprofit that fights menstrual poverty and stigma by distributing free menstrual products, providing educational resources, and advocating for systemic change. There are many ways to contribute, including joining (or starting) a local chapter, hosting a house party, attending one of the events they sponsor, or writing for their publication The Rag.

 

Reproductive Justice Inside

Reproductive Justice Inside is a Maryland project addressing the needs of legal systems-involved individuals statewide seeking quality and timely sexual and reproductive healthcare. Their accomplishments so far include the passage of a law that prohibits pregnant people who are incarcerated from being subjected to solitary confinement.

 

Society for Menstrual Cycle Research

The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research aims to be the source of guidance, expertise, and ethical considerations for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and funding resources interested in the menstrual cycle. The Society informs policy, research, and public discourse in order to improve awareness and reduce stigma surrounding menstruation.

 

Women’s Voices For The Earth

Women’s Voices for the Earth drives action towards a future free from the impacts of toxic chemicals, ensuring that people historically and presently ignored by the environmental health movement are given a seat at the table. They fight for health equity with a focus on keeping toxic ingredients and products out of the industries that most heavily market and sell to women.