DAVIS, Calif. — As Thanksgiving approaches, one group of UC Davis students are holding a donation drive, but they're not asking for canned food. Instead, they're asking for menstruation products for the needy.
Growing up in an Indian family, talking about periods was taboo for Prachi Sood, co-president of Davis Period, a group of students who are "working to end period poverty and stigma through service, education, & advocacy."
“My mom would refer to me as sick, instead of on my period, and I don't really understand that because it's just blood," Sood said.
Now, serving as the co-president of Davis Period, Sood and her peers are on a mission to breakdown the stigma that so many feel when that time of the month comes around.
“Periods are natural. Periods happen, and there's nothing to be ashamed of about that," Sood said.
They're hosting a period product drive this week for menstruaters.
“We like to use the term menstruater to be more inclusive of all types of people, non-binary, trans, anyone who menstruates," Sood said.
She and her cohorts plan to donate these vital hygiene products to underserved communities.
“It's difficult for them to get the period products or even purchase them with their incomes or other issues,” Indira D'Souza, volunteer at Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic, said.
The situation creates period inequity, something the group is passionate about ending by making the products freely accessible. This is especially true for items like re-usable menstrual cups.
Sood says the first step in change is to talk about periods naturally.
“We're trying to celebrate. Just celebrate, you know, this beautiful biological process that happens in so many people on this earth," Sood said.
Davis Period is asking for products to be donated to the women's resource clinic at UC Davis. They're also accepting Venmo donations and have an Amazon wishlist for products to donate. If you want to support the group's cause, you click HERE for their wishlist or HERE for their website.
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