A Look Back at Our History: TPP Through the Years

A lot has happened since our Founder, Jana Girdauskas, filled her first period purse in February 2017. As 2023 draws to a close, let’s take a look at some of the many milestones that mark our nearly seven-year history.

2017

• In February, Jana made a Facebook post asking for a spare purse for her new ‘Period Purse’ idea. In less than a week, she had 11 purses.

  • The media picked up on the idea, and Jana was soon making local news headlines.

  • Within a month, she and her network of volunteers packed over 300 purses, and the Period Purse took off.

• In October 2017, high school student and TPP volunteer Tait launched Menstruation Nation.

2018

• Our Board of Directors was inaugurated in 2018 and TPP’s first Strategic Plan was launched soon after.

• Following relentless advocacy by TPP alongside city Councilor Kristyn Wong-Tam, the City of Toronto recognized Menstrual Hygiene Day for the very first time on May 28, 2018.

  • Toronto City Council also passed a motion that year to allocate $255,000 CAD in the 2019 budget for menstrual products in shelters, drop-ins and health centres.

2019

• In 2019, TPP made history as the first federally registered charity in Canada dedicated to achieving menstrual equity.

• Member of Parliament for Parkdale-High Park, Arif Varani, brought national attention to the menstrual inequity when he spoke about TPP in the House of Commons.

2020

• We continued to support marginalized menstruators during COVID-19 and adapted our work as needed.

• We introduced Mini-drives to keep things going during the pandemic, and they have since stuck around.

2021

• In 2021, we launched the Collective: a place where donors can support menstruators on a monthly basis for as little as $15 per month.

• Due to growing demand, practicality problems, and the pandemic, we had to say goodbye to purses and switch to period packs.

  • Despite the switch, we remained The Period Purse to honour the distinct story that started our movement.

2022

• By TPP’s fifth birthday on February 20th, 2022, we had donated over 3 million period products to menstruators in need.

• In June, we launched our Menstruation Nation App (Apple verison): a period tracker and educational resource designed by youth and for youth, which tracks absolutely no personal data.

• Our headquarters were established in 2022 when we secured a storage unit at 1460 The Queensway in Etobicoke, which now allows us to accept donations year-round.

  • We also run Employee Engagement Packing Parties at our storage facility: a perfect team building exercise that is also tax-deductible.

• We closed our Chapters across the country and shifted to our mini drive program to make it easier and more accessible to everyone.

2023

• Our Android version of our Menstruation Nation App came out in May! It’s free and still doesn’t collect any data.

• In June, following two years working alongside a First Nations community, we launched the Moon Time Zine to help young people learn about menstruation.

• As of mid November, The Period Purse has donated over 4.9 million period products.

• Our work is anchored on three pillars: Outreach, Advocacy and Education.

  • Our outreach pillar includes providing sustainable access to period products, our menstrual cup program, and our programs with and for Indigenous communities.

  • We advocate for healthy periods and bring awareness to menstrual inequity through our advocacy work and educational programs. We offer various period-positive presentations for schools and workplaces, virtually or in-person.

We are so grateful for everyone who has contributed to our cause over the years. We look forward to keeping up the important work we do until our vision becomes a reality: where menstruation is understood and treated with dignity, and period products are free for all.