H*yas for Choice (HFC) is fundraising throughout the month of March to purchase and distribute menstrual products to survivors of domestic and sexual violence in the Washington, D.C. area. 

HFC, an on-campus abortion and reproductive rights organization that is officially unaffiliated with Georgetown University, is partnering with Georgetown’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter and the University of Maryland organization Pro-Choice Terps. The three groups are working with the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), an organization that supports and empowers survivors of domestic abuse in the D.C. area by providing housing and other services, to help allocate menstrual resources to underserved communities. 

Sophia Urdinola (SOH ’27), co-director for advocacy and organizing at HFC and an organizer of the drive, said that HFC partnered with DASH in particular to support communities that disproportionately lack access to period products. 

“That’s why we want to work with DASH, specifically an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence and low income communities specifically, because those are the ones that are most targeted,” Urdinola told The Hoya.

Through the end of March, students can use Paypal or Venmo to make monetary donations to the D.C. chapter of PERIOD., a national menstrual advocacy organization. Donations will be used by PERIOD to purchase menstrual products and other toiletries, which will then be allocated into care packages and delivered to DASH. 

Stella Linn (CAS ’27), co-director for advocacy and organizing for HFC, said the organization’s goal is to raise awareness about period poverty, wherein menstruating persons cannot afford or find the basic hygiene products they need.

According to Linn, this topic is often absent from larger conversations around poverty. 

“When people think about poverty, it’s not the first thing that comes to mind. And, you know, you see so many food drives or even like, clothing drives, when menstrual products are absolutely necessary. And they are really expensive, or they can be, especially for people in low income situations,” Linn told The Hoya. 

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 16.9 million women who menstruate live in poverty in the United States, approximately two-thirds of whom are unable to regularly afford menstrual products. 

Urdolina said that part of the problem with achieving equitable access to menstrual products is that menstruation is stigmatized instead of being treated as a regular bodily function. 

“Most public restrooms have toilet papers for free, but they don’t have period products,” Urdinola told The Hoya. “Menstruation is a biological process. It’s not something that we can control. And it’s ultimately something that enables human life. And if all bathrooms are able to have free toilet paper, why don’t we have free menstrual products?”

Urdinola added that period poverty can harm the mental and physical well-being of menstruating people. 

“If you don’t have access to proper menstrual products, a lot of menstruators will turn to things like dirty cloths and dirty rags, and that leads to an increased susceptibility of negative health consequences like reproductive tract infections, urinary tract infections and human papillomavirus,” she said.

“Not having access to proper period products, that can like increase shame, depression and a lot of things which inadvertently increase period stigma,” she added. 

Reilly Souther (CAS ’27), a donor to the drive, said that she contributed because she believes access to menstrual products is a basic right. 

“Participating in this drive reaffirms the importance of menstrual equity: everyone who menstruates needs access to the necessary resources, regardless of their socioeconomic condition. I also think we have a responsibility to make menstrual products accessible and affordable to everyone,” Souther wrote to The Hoya. 

Linn and Urdinola said that they hope to make the menstrual product drive an annual event, and they plan to continue organizing with other universities in the DC area to have a greater impact on menstrual equity. 

“For this drive, we knew that we would have a much larger reach and we would be able to just get more products donated if we collaborated with other organizations.” Linn said. 

“We’re looking to make this an annual thing, and in the future, maybe bringing in other universities first like American, G.W., Catholic,” Urdinola added.

Linn said she encourages Georgetown students to participate in the menstrual product drive in order to support the D.C. community at large.

“We know that at Georgetown, we’re in such a place of privilege, and we should do something with that,” she said. “It’s not just a within-the-school drive. It’s getting out to the greater community and those underserved communities that really need these products.”