The Period Purse Turns Two!

 
Photo Credit: Danielle Kaftarian
Danielle Kaftarian drives her car filled with period products for marginalized menstruators.

I met Jana Girdauskas, the founder of The Period Purse, nine years ago. Quickly I discovered her drive to spread kindness to others. It wasn't uncommon for her to leave little things on your doorstep if she knew you were having a bad week or a surprise craft to distract the kids when they were stuck at home during bad weather.

So when I saw her Facebook post asking for just ONE purse to hold period products for marginalized menstruators, it wasn't a surprise to me that she was putting together something; yet there I was, in shock. This felt different. I kept telling Jana, "This is big! This is going to be really, really big!"

In those early days, most of the volunteers started out as her close friends. We all pitched in when we had some availability. We had to help Jana now that she needed us. This was our way to return kindness. I was in shock that in less than a week, she had 11 purses.

Then the media picked up on this idea, and she was doing interviews with CBC, CityTV, newspapers, you name it. As a result, more donations were coming in, and before we knew it, a full donation drive was underway. We decided packing parties would be best to handle the sorting of donations and assembling of all the purses.

At the first packing party, we had a plan of how things were going to go. We had a rough idea of how much we had to sort and pack because we had collected it from the drive; we had a rough idea of how many people were going to come and help out because we had invited them.

What we didn't expect is that extra people came and everyone brought additional donations that they had collected. Very early into the event, we knew we had to change the set-up and packing processes. Everyone worked together to brainstorm ways to make them more efficient.

Before we all knew it, in a few short hours, we packed around 300 purses. There it was; Jana had accidentally started an incredible movement that would change the lives of so many.

Photo Credit: Danielle Kaftarian
Danielle Kaftarian's children supporting The Period Purse, celebrating after stuffing packs with products.

That ONE purse has turned into more than 16,000 periods supported in two years. Yet I don't see that as our biggest accomplishment. I see our biggest accomplishment as our ability to educate and effect change in how menstrual health is viewed and treated in our communities.

We have been given this great platform to openly share the knowledge that we are gaining along the way, such as ensuring that we use inclusive language when speaking about menstruation. In the early days, we used the common term, "feminine hygiene products." It's now been changed to, "menstrual products" to be more inclusive.

We also addressed the stigma surrounding discussing periods in general by partnering with Tait Gamble for Menstruation Nation, which educates students across Ontario about period health. And this year, The Period Purse is also looking to focus on supporting Indigenous communities through fundraising for reusable menstrual products.

Challenging individuals to take a moment and think about some of these issues around menstrual health is what is going to spark change. The Period Purse was even highlighted recently in a speech by Arif Virani, Ontario MP, in the House of Commons, which illustrates the progress we've made in discussing menstruation and menstrual equity.

I'm still in awe of how big this has grown in just two years, and I am beyond excited to see what happens in two more. I know I have learned and grown in my own confidence with talking about menstrual health; it's allowed me to teach my kids about kindness and charity; it's allowed me to feel like we can really make an impact in this one aspect of others' lives. I'm so honoured to be a part of this movement.

Now it's time to continue these important conversations and keep working towards menstrual equity. We encourage our supporters to reach out and join the conversation. Follow us on social media (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook), and talk to your local politicians to spark change in your own communities. Like I imagined two years ago, it could lead to something big.