Hygiene products are essential items that are incredibly limited to residents of correctional facilities. Starting a period product donation drive for your local prison can help menstruating inmates immensely. Read more about access to period products in correctional facilities here. 

What You’ll Need: Here are some essentials that you’ll need to get started. Once you have them you’re ready to go to step 1! 

• Bins or boxes to house the products you are collecting 
• Money for shipping (where necessary) or to cover the costs of transportation to the drop off location  

Item Collection Guidelines: 

• Aim to collect unopened boxes/packages of period products rather than individually wrapped items.

Where to Collect Donations:  

• Great places to collect donations are in schools/community centers, outside of local malls, grocery stores and drug stores.

Where to donate: Use the call guide below to contact your local prisons to ask if they are taking donations and what the donation process is. 

Donation Drive Call Script: 

Introductions: Hi! My name is _______, and I would like to donate feminine hygiene products to your prison. May I please speak with someone about delivering these donations? 

Explain the Donation Drive:  I learned that there is a shortage of feminine hygiene products in prisons so I have decided to start a donation drive through Révolutionnaire, the social network for changemakers. I would like to donate these feminine hygiene products to your prison. Are you able to accept donations at this time? 

If yes: Ask them to confirm the address of the drop off location and ask if packages can be mailed in. If packages can not be mailed in, ask when the best time to drop them off is and who you should ask for when you drop off the donations. 

If no:  Find another prison in your area to donate the items to! 

Amplify: Post about your donation drive in the lounge to amplify it and gain support!

Post and inspire! 

• Comment the number of items you collected and a photo with the boxes you have collected to inspire others and encourage them to start a donation drive too!

To learn more about access to hygiene products in prisons, click “Learn More”