Menstrual products are expensive! We founded Seattle T2P2 on International Women’s Day 2017 to provide menstrual products to low-income, students, and unhoused people. Tampons and pads are considered “luxury” items ineligible for purchase on government assistance programs like food stamps. If you’re a person living on the streets, in transitional housing, or a young adult, it can be hard to afford $13.25 a month for menstrual products.
Without these products, people have to improvise using rags or use toilet paper while staying near public restrooms for several days. Watch this video from Bustle which explains what it’s like to be unhoused and unable to afford menstruation products.
While organizations servicing these people do an excellent job of providing a safe place to sleep and a warm meal, they often rely on what is donated to them. These donations don’t typically include menstruation products like pads, tampons, or liners.
Established in 1978, Human Rights
First’s mission is to ensure that the
United States is a global leader on
human rights. The organization
works in the United States and
abroad to promote respect for
human rights and the rule of law.
We strive to help individuals and families in Maine meet their basic, material needs by providing donated clothing, hygiene products, household items, and other necessities. We focus our work on those starting life over from scratch: domestic abuse survivors, asylum seekers and those facing financial hardships. We partner with schools, caseworkers, teachers, nurses and professional care providers to provide these material resources.
Urban Ministries of Durham is the primary point of connection for those who are homeless, hungry, or in need in Durham. With the help of nearly 4,000 volunteers, countless donations from the community, and dedicated staff, we serve some 6,000 people each year who come seeking food, shelter, clothing, and supportive services. We are the primary public homeless shelter in Durham, and we welcome neighbors regardless of race, ethnicity, religious beliefs or non-faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. We provide immediate relief to those experiencing chronic or temporary homelessness and work with clients to end their homelessness as quickly and responsibly as possible. Last year, 118 people ended their homelessness at UMD.
Council for Children’s Rights protects and advances the legal rights and development of children through individual representation, community education, and by addressing community-wide issues through systems advocacy, research, and policy work.
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.
Founded in 1922, PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 centers worldwide that make up the PEN International network. PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others. Our strength is our Membership—a nationwide community of more than 7,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals, as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission.
Insulin For Life’s mission is simple: to bring the necessary resources to individuals with diabetes. To do this, we actively accept supplies from patients that would usually go to waste. Once those resources are donated, we take care of the rest, shipping these critical supplies to the communities who need them most. This cuts down waste within a medical community where many go without, using already made goods to solve a problem that can save someone’s life. It’s because of our generous partners, board of passionate directors, and consistent support from individuals in and out of the diabetes community that IFL USA is able to make a difference. Every donation, whether resources or financial assistance, goes toward helping someone in need.
VoteRiders’ mission is to ensure that no eligible voter is prevented from casting a ballot that counts due to voter ID laws, either directly from lack of acceptable ID or indirectly because of voter confusion. VoteRiders educates voters and assists citizens to secure their voter ID. We inspire and support organizations, volunteers, and communities to sustain such voter ID education and assistance efforts.
Our Freedom to Vote is Under Attack
Voter ID laws prevent or intimidate millions of eligible Americans from casting a ballot that counts.
To address this crisis in our democracy, VoteRiders works nationwide to provide voter ID education and assistance to all eligible voters who are in need. We equip voters with what they need to vote with confidence, knowing they cannot be turned away.
BARRIERS TO THE BALLOT
Tens of millions of voters find that obtaining an ID that fulfills voting requirements is costly and confusing. It often requires navigating arcane systems and bureaucratic barriers that cost time and money. All to exercise a basic freedom that should be equally accessible to all Americans.
We also see massive confusion about voter ID rules in EVERY STATE – among voters and poll workers alike. State laws are complicated to understand and often changing. Confusion can easily lead to disenfranchisement for too many Americans unless we take action.
UNEQUAL IMPACT
Voter ID laws present a challenge for millions of eligible voters. But they impact some Americans more than others. A Brennan Center survey of US citizens found significant disparities between who has current, government-issued photo ID.
11% of voting-age citizens – more than 25 million individuals by current census figures – do not have current (unexpired) government-issued photo identification.
25% of Black Americans (1 in four!) voting-age citizens do not have current government-issued photo ID compared to eight percent of white voting-age citizens. Using current census figures, there are about 7,750,000 adult Black citizens without photo identification.
18% of American citizens age 65 and above do not have a current government-issued photo ID. Using current census estimates, this amounts to about 7,250,000 senior citizens.
18% of citizens aged 18-24 do not have photo ID with current address and name. Using current census tallies, about 5,500,000 young adult citizens are in jeopardy of not being able to vote.
Voter ID laws also disproportionately impact women. Because most married women change their name, they may still have their maiden name on their driver’s license or voter registration.
The Brennan Center survey found that 48% of voting-age women don’t have easy access to their birth certificates with their current legal name.
Based on current census data, the only available proof-of-citizenship documents possessed by almost 37 million voting-age women do not reflect their current name.
Complete the form to add the organization, and we will do all the backend paperwork needed to get everything set up to receive gifts.
