The community is connecting to confront the issues of period poverty.
The founder of Help a Girl Out, Yanique Brandford, will tell her story of experiencing period poverty both growing up in Jamaica and here in the GTA. She decided to take action. HAGO addresses period poverty by distributing hygiene kits, donating thousands of tampons and pads to people in low-income families, students, refugee centres, remote communities, and those on the streets. HAGO also have sessions to sew reusable pads.
Menstrual supplies are a basic necessity — and for years they haven’t been treated that way.
“Growing up in Jamaica—access to essential materials like sanitary pads was a luxury. Most of what we had we needed to spend making sure we could eat or get to school. By the end of the month, we couldn’t afford sanitary pads. We would use paper, cardboard—and a range of other things to meet our needs. When I got to Canada I realized that this wasn’t tied to geography. It was global—and in Toronto, the need was really there. So I started Help A Girl Out in 2018. Since then we’ve delivered thousands of hygiene materials to women and girls in across Canada, and around the world.”
She is inspired by her mother, who handcrafted pads for her to wear to school so that she could have equal education and escape the poverty that she was exposed to in her home.
Yanique was awarded Global Citizen’s Canada’s Hero Award for her advocacy work through Help A Girl Out, the Viola Desmond award bursary by TMU, the Brampton Board of Trade: Community Impact Award & most recently the Toronto Youth Cabinet: Youth Advocacy award.
This event was made possible with grant from the Family Services of York Region South-Central Richmond Hill Community Action Table and supported by the Richmond Hill United Church's social justice efforts.
Refreshments will follow.
In lieu of admission there is a request of feminine hygiene products.
Please click HERE to register
Post refreshments there will be a group that will sew the products and put together care packages. If you are interested in participating in this please contact Endra at [email protected]
