Advocate for Free Menstrual Products at Your School | Aunt Flow

Advocate for Aunt Flow at your school

Offering free menstrual products increases school attendance amongst girls by 2.4%.

WORKING WITH 900+ ORGANIZATIONS LIKE YOURS

Getting your period can be a setback. But it shouldn't be.

1 in 5 menstruating students have missed school because of a lack of period supplies and resources. Period products (i.e. pads and tampons) are a crucial and constant hygiene need similar to toilet paper and yet menstrual health is a topic that is often stigmatized or ignored.

Supporting students with high-quality, freely accessible products improves the educational experience and alleviates the financial burden and stress from when a sudden need arises.

Work with Aunt Flow to advocate for change at YOUR school:

Advocate for your school using our resources below.

Aunt Flow works with your school to finalize the details and budget.

Enjoy free tampons and pads. NO ONE is forced to shove a tampon up their sleeve while scampering to the bathroom.

Resources

Email Template: Request Aunt Flow at Your School

Student Advocacy 101 Guide

K-12 Student Advocacy One Pager

University Student Advocacy One Pager

How to Respond to Objections & Concerns

Menstrual Equity: A Legislative Toolkit by Period Equity & ACLU

More states are requiring schools to offer period products to their students.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is period poverty?

Period poverty is the lack of access to period products and education. We believe fighting period poverty is one of the most tangible steps we can take toward gender equality.

What is Aunt Flow's mission?

Aunt Flow's mission is to fight period poverty and stigma. Alongside ensuring that businesses and schools offer free period products for employees and students, our donation program supports activist-led pilot program initiatives and various grassroots nonprofit organizations.

What are ways I can get more involved in the menstrual movement?

Aunt Flow believes in a multifaceted approach to achieving menstrual justice, including service, education, research, advocacy, and investment.

Organize menstrual product drives and fundraisers in your community to collect and donate pads and tampons to local shelters and food pantries.
Lead educational workshops in your community about menstruation, sustainable menstrual products, and destigmatizing menstruation.
Apply pressure to policymakers, decision-makers, and local leaders, advocating for policies that improve access to menstrual products and education.
Ask your school to include menstruation and menstrual health as part of the educational curriculum. In fact, 77% of students believe there needs to be more in-depth education about menstrual health.
Conduct and support more peer-reviewed research assessing the prevalence and health implications of period poverty. This data is important for supporting more grassroots advocacy efforts.
Urge schools and businesses to invest in high-quality menstrual products free of cost for everyone.

How much do we need to budget for?

We recommend estimating product quantities based on supplemental, as-needed period product usage at approximately 15 pieces per menstruating student per school year. You can use our pricing calculator or meet with an Aunt Flow Happiness Developer to get a custom quote that includes our reduced educational pricing for a quick budget estimate. For a one-time individual donation request, apply to our donation program.

Will people take more than they need?

If your school offers toilet paper for free, then advocate to your principal or superintendent to prioritize budgeting for freely accessible period products too. When dispensers are first installed in bathrooms, there could be higher than normal usage, which then levels out over time once students learn that period products are not just a one-time luxury item but will be available ongoing.

Which bathrooms should we stock with free period products?

We recommend offering period products for free in the restrooms rather than offering period products solely in the nurse’s office or upon request. Offering period products only in the nurse’s office perpetuates the incorrect notion that menstruation is an illness or something to be ashamed about. Instead, we encourage schools and students to advocate for access to period products in restrooms for free to remove barriers to accessing period products.

Testimonials

"I started the Period Equity Project in 2020 to get free period product dispensers in San Mateo County high schools in California. When I discovered Aunt Flow, I knew immediately that this was the company I wanted to work with. Since then, I have expanded the project to my college, UC Santa Cruz, and have taken Aunt Flow with me. Everyone I have worked with thus far has raved about Aunt Flow's easy accessibility, quick turnaround, and amazing products. With Aunt Flow's help, we're also breaking down the period stigma, one campus at a time!"

- Amanda Safi

Student, San Mateo High School

"The Menstrual Products Task Forces has seen a great response from menstrual product users across campus! A feedback survey showed that 86% of students using the products are using them because Mother Nature caught them unprepared."

- Preeti Iyer

Student, Princeton University

"The group of leaders (Breanna Wollman, Abiah George, Sage Wilson, Katelyn Ryan, and Reagan Blackburn) from Aberdeen Central High School in South Dakota has been working for months to get the support and funding for this dispenser. After installation, the feedback from our community has been insane. We LOVE our dispenser, and so do our peers. An investment into an Aunt Flow dispenser is an investment into the future of women."

- Breanna Wollman

Student, Aberdeen Central High School

"I started this process with a vision and a lot of hope, but also doubt, doubt that anyone would care enough to even listen. All I knew was that Aunt Flow was the perfect candidate to provide free period products to our athletic facilities. Actually seeing the dispensers in our locker rooms and bathrooms, and knowing the impact that has been made on so many student-athletes is unbelievable. I am immensely proud of this and hope it becomes a more normalized subject in athletic facilities around the country."

- Irina Cantos

Student-Athlete, The Ohio State University

Claire Coder, Founder + CEO

Hi! I’m Claire. I founded Aunt Flow after getting my period in public without the supplies needed.

At 18 years old, I dedicated my life to developing a solution to ensure businesses and schools could sustainably provide quality period products, for free, in bathrooms. Our products are made with organic cotton and we are constantly working to reduce our environmental impact! Since 2021, we've donated MILLIONS of period products to menstruators in need. I call this people helping people. PERIOD.®