Sylvia's Sisters

End Period Poverty

About Sylvia's Sisters

Merch Store LIVE

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We are so excited to announce our first ever storefront through Bonfire! We have t-shirts, sweatshirts and pouches that fight the stigma AND period poverty.

Every purchase supports free period products for women and girls.

Sale ends Nov. 26 and items will ship in time for the holidays.

SHOP NOW

Celebrating 10 Years: Our Beginnings

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It was in 2013 when Sylvia Namukasa, an activist in rural Uganda, requested reusable pads from her friend, Jennifer Taylor, in Richmond, Virginia, in order to keep local girls in school while menstruating. In 2014, Sylvia’s Sisters was officially born.

The end of 2024 marked our 10th year of operating as a 501(c)(3) fighting period poverty in Virginia and Uganda.

As we’ve pondered our successes in 2024, it has been wonderful to see how far we’ve come since our beginnings, and how many lives we’ve changed…

The very first delivery of reusable pads sent to Uganda in 2013.
Rural Ugandan women receiving their reusable pads.
A sample of the original reusable pads sewn by Sylvia’s Sisters.
In 2017, we began supplying Ugandan menstruators with purchased AFRIpad kits. Here, founder Jennifer Taylor passes out the kits with namesake Sylvia Namukasa behind her in the pink.
AFRIpad kits are always accompanied by a menstrual health educational class, taught by Sylvia.
Our Virginia mission began through Communities in Schools (CIS). Here, volunteer Corinna Anderson delivers 3-months worth of products to CIS Richmond to help students through the summer.
Founder Jennifer Taylor delivers U by Kotex pads to CIS Petersburg
In 2017, we hosted a “drive-thru” period product pick up for school nurses and CIS reps.
In 2020, we expanded our mission beyond schools in order to help community organizations provide period products to the people they served. Here, founder Jennifer Taylor delivers products to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief.
We began participating in community resource fairs in 2021. Here, we’re passing out period products at the Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center resource fair.

Here we are, 10 years later, and our growth is staggering.

A small sampling of the many Sylvia’s Sisters distributions and resource fairs in 2024!

All thanks to the friendship and determination of two women.

2022 Impact Report

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2022 was an exciting year for Sylvia’s Sisters – we underwent our first-ever leadership change and had a banner year helping menstruators in need. We have ambitious goals for 2023 and are hard at work setting them in motion!

Introducing our new leadership team

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Hello everyone,

My name is Brittany Averette, and I am excited to introduce myself as the new executive director of Sylvia’s Sisters. I have worked in non-profit communications for many years and feel honored to serve this mission. I am also a web designer, business owner, and mother of two, with a passion for equity issues in women’s health. 

In June, our founder and president, Jennifer Taylor, retired. Jennifer is the visionary behind Sylvia’s Sisters and the heart and soul of our organization. Retiring with her are Laura Davidson, vice president, JoAnne Kaperick, treasurer, and volunteer Heidi Field-Alvarez. 

These women are the driving force behind Sylvia’s Sisters’ success. Their many achievements include:

  • Establishing Sylvia’s Sisters as a 501(c)(3)
  • Distributing pads, panty liners, and tampons to menstruators in Central Virginia since 2016 (and in the past three years alone, we have supplied more than 640,000 period products to our community!)
  • Purchasing, producing, and distributing reusable pads (and menstrual health education) to dozens of rural Ugandan schools
  • Developing a relationship with Afripads to make our Ugandan mission more sustainable
  • Successfully lobbying Virginia legislators to require free period products in school 
  • Providing 4 Ugandan schools with water catchments so they have access to clean water (an essential component of menstrual health)
  • Establishing a relationship with more than 30 partners in Central Virginia, including agencies through whom Sylvia’s Sisters provided products to students in more than 50 Virginia public elementary, middle, and high schools 
  • Joining the Alliance for Period Supplies, a national organization that supports and provides resources for local period poverty groups
  • All of the fundraising and volunteer coordination to make the above possible! 

Fortunately, Jennifer will remain a part of Sylvia’s Sisters as a Board member and a trusted advisor. I have learned a lot from her, and I am personally grateful to call her a friend. Laura, JoAnne and Heidi remain steadfast volunteers and supporters–and we could not do this work without them.

President Jennifer Taylor distributes pads to a classroom in Uganda. Our namesake, Sylvia, stands behind her, discussing the basics of proper menstrual hygiene. 

Jennifer, Laura, JoAnne and Heidi: Thank you for your many years of invaluable service! 

I am excited to introduce two other brand-new members of our leadership team! Heather Lennon is our new director of operations. She has worked in non-profit administration for many years with various organizations across the country. Katie Irvine Wadey is our new director of finance. She is an analyst with the Federal Reserve of Richmond.

Brittany Averette
Heather Lennon
Katie Irvine Wadey

Meet our full staff here. We remain an all-volunteer organization. 

Heather, Katie and I are honored to join the fight to end period poverty.

With gratitude,

Brittany