Loading....
Menstruation has long been seen as the ultimate “TMI” topic.
Do you want to break the silence, shatter taboos, and empower young advocates and activists to build a world where menstruation is no longer a barrier to education, opportunity, or dignity? Support Period Power! Stories today and be a part of this transformative movement.
Period Power! Stories, a TMI Project storytelling program with youth-activists from Kingston High School’s Period Power! club, will empower students to craft candid, true narratives to destigmatize menstruation through a series of TMI Project storytelling workshops.
The culminating content - a live storytelling performance, video collection, podcast, and book - will be utilized to fight period poverty, and serve as a blueprint for schools across the country to do the same.
Nothing illustrates the power of your support better than our storytellers. Your generosity impacts real people, like:
I come from a family of a single mom with four kids. She was trying to support us by cleaning on the side. I didn’t want to tell her I got my period because I was nervous products would just be another expense out of her paycheck. I was ashamed. I felt like I would be an added burden on her. - Becky Hansen, Period Power! member
Did you know? 1 in 5 students in the U.S. have struggled to afford menstrual products and benefit assistance programs like SNAP and WIC do not allow the purchase of menstruation products? 1
I was 9 years-old and in 4th grade when I got my first period. I lived at my dad’s. I was scared. I thought I was dying. I thought I had cancer or something was wrong with me and that my whole body was just shutting down. I had no support system, no education. I couldn’t really express my emotions to anyone. I felt ashamed and like I had to hide it.
- Xyajah, Period Power! member
Did you know? about 50% of menstruators do not know what is happening the first time they get their period? 4
They still separate the boys and the girls. That’s a problem. It’s just basic education. Isn’t that what we all go to school for?
- Makayla, Period Power! member
The products the school provides look like they're from the 1970s. I called the manufacturing company to find out what they are made of and they said they weren't at liberty to disclose that information. How can we be expected to put something in our body if we don't even know what it is?
- Katie, Period Power! member
Did you know? Menstrual products are not federally required to have ingredient labels. Chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and hormone disruption have been found in pads, tampons, and period underwear. ⁹
We surveyed our students, and realized many didn’t have access to products. Some don’t come to school because they don’t have access. It’s not just impacting their grades, but their mental health.
- Tina, Period Power! club advisor
Did you know? Period poverty has caused a large proportion of menstruators to miss school during their periods. It affects attendance, test-taking, and meeting requirements for graduation. A student affected by period poverty may miss up to five days a month, or up to fifty days over the course of the school year. 8
Additionally…
- 51% of students in the U.S. have worn period products for longer than recommended due to lack of access or affordability. 2
- A recent study looked at how trans and non-binary youth experience periods and found that 93% experience distress related to having their periods. 3
- In states such as Florida, students are not even allowed to say the word “period.” While New York is more progressive, mandating that sanitary supplies be made available in public schools, many schools fail to do so. 7
YOUR SUPPORT WILL EMPOWER:
Period Power! Skills & Connection: In the fall of 2023, TMI Project will hold a 10-session true storytelling workshop for active members of the Period Power! club at Kingston High School. While working together to craft their true stories, participants will connect with each other and build meaningful, lasting relationships, and learn from each other's experience.
Period Power! Awareness & Community: With the culminating content from the workshop, TMI Project will produce Period Power! Stories, a live performance in Kingston, NY in December of 2023, for an all-inclusive audience. The performance will be live streamed and the forthcoming audio will be featured on The TMI Project Podcast (featured on Apple New and Noteworthy, nearly 150k unique downloads), providing access and connection to students, educators, and general audience members around the world. It’s important for these stories to be heard far and wide.
Period Power! Education & Resistance: All culminating content - a live performance, video collection, podcast, and book - will serve as educational resources and a blueprint for schools across the country to do the same.
Your gift powers our storytellers, who do more than entertain. They reclaim the power of the untold story. They divulge the “too much information” parts we usually keep to ourselves for personal liberation, human connection, and freedom, for both themselves and those who listen.
Contact Us
,
Become a TMI Project Fundraiser
Today & Help us Reach our Goal!
Find & Donate to a Friend's Campaign
Your Gift of a Story in Action
(All supporters will receive our gratitude and a social media shoutout! Those who donate $25 or more will receive a Period Power! sticker.)
Activist
$25: Support an audience member who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend the performance
Truthsayer
$50: Pay for an hour of planning by one incredible workshop leader, the geniuses creating our program with impeccable thoughtfulness and care
Agent of Change
$100: Support one incredible workshop leader to facilitate a writing session with the student activists from Period Power! - this is where the magic begins
Visionary
$250: Cover the costs of editing and preparing a new story, without you our stories would not make it to the stage
Champion
$500: Sponsor a storyteller through the entire process, from their nervous entrance into their first workshop, to the moment they proudly take their bow
Radical Truth-Teller
$1,000: Support a youth activist to share their story far and wide with the production of one episode of the podcast
Social Justice Partner!
$2,500 and up: Deepen the impact of the program by supporting the creation of educational tools to serve as a blueprint for students across the country to eradicate period poverty in their schools
Leaderboard