Periods are a fact of life, but unfortunately, so is period poverty. Period poverty is an often unacknowledged and complex issue. Multiple factors contribute to period poverty, including the inability to afford products, little or no access to washrooms, limited laundry services, stigma around gender identity, and shame around menstruation in general. In Canada, almost one-quarter of people who menstruate say they struggle to afford menstrual products for themselves
and/or their children. Barrier-free access to affordable menstrual products means people don’t have to miss school, or work, and are able to participate in daily life
in a confident and comfortable way.

With funding and resources provided by the Government of Alberta, Grand & Toy, and Proctor and Gamble, United Way FMWB’s Period Promise Initiative is tackling period poverty by providing free menstrual products and dispensers to thirteen schools and one community centre in the Wood Buffalo region.

United Way Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo is committed to improving equity and supporting the overall well-being of individuals and communities in the region. By partnering with community agencies doing similar work, we will continue to raise awareness, provide education, and menstrual products
to our region’s schools.