WHY: No one should have to choose between buying period products or other basic necessities. Period Promise is more than just accessible products. By supporting people with their basic needs, they can free up resources to afford other essentials - like food or utility bills. United Way's Period Promise campaign increases access to free menstrual products in our community so that everyone who menstruates can go to work, get to school, access services, and stay connected to their community.

HOW: We do this by providing menstrual products to community partners who work directly with community members. The more products we can provide, the more people we can help. Our partners include food banks, drop-in centers, shelters, schools and outreach organizations. We partner with a wide variety of service providers to ensure these products are accessible to anyone who needs them.

THE FACTS: One in six (17%) Canadians who menstruate have personally experienced period poverty; this rises to one in four (25%) if their household earns less than $40,000 a year. One in five (20%) who menstruate say they may not afford period products at some point in the next 12 months, and 7% say this is very likely. (Statistics Canada)

Not having the product you need - when you need it - can make it difficult to stay connected to your community.

THE IMPACT: That means that single parents are choosing between buying tampons or food for their families, and trans and non-binary kids are scrambling in washrooms, putting together makeshift pads that don’t suit their needs. Too many families skip out on social events – like going to the library or the pool – because it’s easier to stay home than risk bleeding in public. People are missing school or leaving work, and too many people face the additional challenges of homelessness, living with a disability, or just the stigma around having a period at all. It isn’t easy to ask for help, or know where to find it.

Join us and tell every person their basic needs matter, PERIOD.

When people have access to the product they need, it improves their health and well-being and makes it easier for them to stay connected.

And when they know that free product is available when they need it, it makes it easier for them to go to school or work, or contribute to their community.

United Way’s Period Promise campaign is committed to making it easier for everybody to access the product they need, when they need it.

To date, we have provided 1,483,200 products and counting!

Every donation raises awareness, reduces stigma, and tackles the vulnerability and isolation caused by period poverty.