Help us support our U of G students’ during Women’s History Month by donating menstrual hygiene products as we work towards ending period poverty and ending the stigma around menstruation.

Menstrual Hygiene Items that can be donated:

• Tampons
• Pads
• Menstrual Cups

All donations will go to the Guelph Student Food Bank to support our own U of G students. Please ensure that all donated items are unopened and new.

For each item, you donate you will be entered into a draw to win a $25 Hospitality Services gift card. There is no limit to the number of donations, nor the number of times you are entered into the prize draw.

Questions? Please email wellnessatwork@uoguelph.ca

What is period poverty?

People who experience period poverty are unable to purchase the menstrual products they need, and, in many cases, this means that they cannot go to school or work or otherwise participate in daily life. Or it may mean that those who menstruate are not replacing products with new ones at appropriate timeframes, putting them at risk of infections and even toxic shock syndrome.

In 2020, close to 25% of menstruating Canadians and about 33% of those younger than 25 faced financial hardship in securing “menstrual products for themselves or their dependants.” In that same year, it was estimated that “Canadians who menstruate typically spend up to $6,000 in their lifetime on menstrual hygiene products.” For women who live in remote or rural Canadian areas, the cost is even heftier — women pay twice as much for menstrual products.”

One way U of G has worked towards ending period poverty is by offering products in certain campus buildings. Learn more about the CSA’s Menstrual Hygiene Initiative.

A note on language:

We use the language of “menstruating Canadians” and “those who menstruate” because not all women menstruate and not all those who menstruate are women. Not everybody who menstruates identifies as a girl or woman. Transgender men and genderqueer people who have uteruses, vaginas, fallopian tubes, and ovaries also get their periods.

What does this have to do with well-being?

There are many components to well-being, with community well-being being one of them. Community well-being speaks to ways organizations can be involved in the community and how this can improve the health and well-being of our community members, including our own U of G students! As come together to provide these donations to the Student Food Banks, we are also working towards supporting the health and well-being of our students.