Getting your period and NOT having products available to you every once in a while is an inconvenience. Getting your period and NOT having products available to you EVERY TIME, is the definition of period poverty.

Liz Wollenberg, Vice President of Northeast Wisconsin at Feeding America; Alison Fiebig, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Bellin Health; Julie Keller, Executive Director of the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region

Did you know that 1 in 4 menstruators currently face period poverty? Not only does period poverty impact mental and emotional health, it also creates educational inequity.  Girls who don’t have access to period products don’t go to school. Period.

On Thursday, October 12, 2023, The Monthlies Project hosted the second annual An Event, Period at Poplar Hall in Appleton. It was a red tsunami of support for ending period poverty in Northeast Wisconsin. During the event, we shared stories and insight from a panel discussion, laughs with a local comedian, and friendship as we connected over ending period poverty.

Thanks to the generous support of our community, over $80,000 was raised! Knowing that $1 equals 3 days-worth of product, we will be able to supply product for 240,000 days for menstruators in our community.

Trisha Sarvela, Chief Development Officer with Partnership Community Health Center; Laurel Golsen, Junior at Kimberly HS, Founder and President of End Period Poverty KHS; Julie Bargholtz, Coordinator of Family and Community Engagement, Appleton Area School District

Laurel, a Kimberly high schooler and founder of End Period Poverty shared, “Menstrual products are as much of a necessity as toilet paper, so why aren’t they provided in public schools?”

Most menstruators can share a story where someone asked if they had a tampon or pad. Thanks to the work of The Monthlies Project, we can grant that friendly gesture for those in need at scale. Over and over and over again.

Liz Wollenberg and Julie Keller

The work of The Monthlies Project is a community collaboration project, nobody owns The Monthlies. Each partnering organization plays a role in making The Monthlies Project successful. For this reason, The Monthlies Project was awarded the Collaboration Award at The Connection by the Fox Cities Chamber earlier this month.

Ending period poverty is just one of the many things the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region is doing for women and girls in our community to help create brighter and hopeful futures for women and girls. Help us continue to inspire girls like Laurel to create change in her community and end period poverty in Northeastern Wisconsin by including the Women’s Fund in your year-end giving plans. Together, we’re not just making a difference in the lives of women and girls, we’re transforming our community.

Julie Keller

The Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation and a separate 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Women’s Fund invests in the needs of women and girls through grants, advocacy and education. Since 1994, the Women’s Fund has awarded more than $1.8 million in grants to innovative programs that improve women’s and girls’ physical and mental health, ensure their economic security, promote their safety and enhance their lives. For more information, click here.