Community Updates

Kimberly-Clark’s U By Kotex Brand And Dosomething.Org Introduce Power To The Period To Benefit People Experiencing Homelessness

Published 8 years ago | About a 3 minute read

The U by Kotex brand and DoSomething.org kick off Power to the Period, the first-ever, national period products donation drive and second installment of the U by Kotex Period Projects – a groundbreaking series of projects, each inspired by a woman who shares the brand’s passion for creating real change. Power to the Period aims to provide period products for many of the 3.5 million Americans who experience homelessness each year by encouraging people to collect and donate extra packages of period products to homeless shelters between July 14 - September 30. This latest signature project follows the first of the U by Kotex Period Projects, The Period Shop – a New York City-based pop-up shop and abbreviated online experience dedicated to all things period.

“Many people who experience homelessness have limited to no access to period products. It’s time to change that,” said Holly Sanchez, Chicago-based law student and Power to the Period Project Captain. “I posted a tweet encouraging people to buy and donate an extra pack of period products to benefit people in homeless shelters. U by Kotex responded with the opportunity to create the first-ever, national period product drive with DoSomething.org, so I jumped at the opportunity to be involved in this rewarding project!”

In fact, a new online study conducted in June by Harris Poll on behalf of Kimberly-Clark’s U by Kotex brand found that nearly nine in 10 Americans (89 percent) say that having access to period products is a problem for people experiencing homelessness, but only 6 percent have actually donated period products to homeless shelters.

People who sign up for the campaign at DoSomething.org/Period and upload a photo of the period products they donate will be eligible to win a $5,000 scholarship. Eligible participants will receive one entry for the scholarship for every ten period products items donated. When signing up to participate, people can also opt-in to one of 20 competitions throughout the donation drive period. The U by Kotex brand will donate product to a shelter designated by the top five winners of each competition.

“Holly and the DoSomething.org team bring an unparalleled passion and commitment to the cause, and both are tremendous partners in working to bring the donation drive to life,” said Lauren Kren, U by Kotex brand manager, Kimberly-Clark, “Power to the Period is proof that together we can change the way we think about, talk about and support the period needs of people experiencing homelessness in our communities.”

Power to the Period is supported by digital partnerships; robust owned social and web support; and digital and print advertisements. Additionally, lifestyle expert and online video personality Ingrid Nilsen, who is passionate about increasing access to period products for people experiencing homelessness, starred in a Power to the Period PSA to help inspire others to join the movement and to showcase her support for the Power to the Period donation drive.

People across the country are invited to start a Power to the Period donation drive or donate new boxes of period products to a shelter in their area. Text PERIOD to 38383 or visit or DoSomething.org/Period for more information. Also, visit www.UbyKotex.com to learn more about the Power to the Period donation drive, The Period Projects and request a U by Kotex product sample. Join the online conversation with #PeriodProjects.