Sask. Tampon Tuesday campaign aims to battle period poverty

The United Way of Saskatoon is kicking off its annual Tampon Tuesday campaign on this International Women’s Day, aiming to help more people access vital supplies while creating a conversation about a subject once considered taboo.

“It’s something that we don’t often think about, we often don’t talk about it,” United Way of Saskatoon CEO Sheri Benson told CTV News.

The donation bin at the United Way office sat empty on Tuesday morning, but over the next couple weeks it will be filled with essential menstrual supplies donated by the community and then distributed to the community.

“When someone doesn’t have access to period products they make some choices and one of those choices is that young people choose to not go to school,” Benson said.

The Tampon Tuesday program started 5 years ago with the aim to start the conversation about getting much-needed menstrual supplies to people who can’t access them.

Diane Lovegrove works the front lines at the Community Service Village in the YWCA building and recently saw the need firsthand when a woman came in to use the restroom and didn’t have period supplies.

“I didn’t have anything to give her, so I was a little worried on what to do so I called Sheri since the United Way Office is right beside my office and she brought me a little bag,” said Lovegrove, director of Community Service Village.

Diane Lovegrove works the front lines at the Community Service Village in the YWCA building. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)

The group used International Women’s Day to launch the program and bring the issue to the forefront. It started in 2017 and the hope is that it continues adding to the number of people getting help.

“We’ve raised well over $100,000 and circulated to folks who needed them, period products in excess of 20,000,” Benson said.

Monetary donations are used to purchase supplies and give them to organizations like schools or the Friendship Inn to distribute.

“We don’t want people to miss out on life because they don’t have access to period products, because that’s part of life for many of us.”

Donations can be made at select businesses and Shoppers Drug Mart locations across Canada.