Sylvia's Sisters

End Period Poverty

News & Events

Save the Date: Kit Packing Party 8/16

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Come see our new space while helping menstruators in need.

Where? UMFS Firefly Hall, 3865 Mastin Ln, Richmond, VA 23230
When? Saturday, August 16, 1:00-3:00pm

Help us keep girls in school next year!

Sylvia’s Sisters fights period poverty—the inability to afford or access menstrual products—by providing period product kits to schools and organizations in Central Virginia. These kits contain enough pads, tampons and liners to last one menstruator one month. At this party, we’ll have stations set up at which volunteers can pack kits with products. All supplies will be provided; just bring yourself!

All are welcome—seasoned volunteers or those who have never heard of our organization. Bring friends and family! Children and teens are welcome. Our staff is happy to sign off on volunteer hours.

REGISTER FOR THE KIT PACKING!

Assemble Your Period-Poverty Fighting Trivia Team!

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Gather your smartest friends, family and colleagues and join us for a fundraiser to help end period poverty in our community.

Date? Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Time? Doors open at 6:00 PM and trivia kicks off at 6:30 PM. 
Where? Hardywood Richmond, 2410 Ownby Lane
Cost? Playing trivia costs $25; hanging out is free!  
Eats? Pizza and beer will be for sale by Hardywood. 
Why? All proceeds will support menstruators affected by period inequity. One trivia ticket will keep EIGHT girls in school that month!

REGISTER TODAY

And be sure to follow this event on Facebook!

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.

Did you see our billboard?

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Over Giving Tuesday, we were excited to hire out TWO billboards along I64 in the Richmond, VA-area to spread the word about period poverty in our community. Did you happen to see them? Let us know in the comments!

Many thanks to the Alliance for Period Supplies for funding this endeavor. Raising awareness about period poverty and its many impacts is a large part of our mission, and we couldn’t do it without their support.

Period Product Kit Packing Parties, January 2025!

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Please join Sylvia’s Sisters in celebrating the MLK National Day of Service at one of our kit-packing parties! 

BON AIR KIT PACKING PARTY
Where? Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W Huguenot Rd, Richmond, VA 23235
When? Sunday, January 12, 12:15-2:15 (Please note this is the weekend BEFORE MLK Day).

ReGISTER FOR THE BON AIR EVENT


HANOVER KIT PACKING PARTY
Where? First Union Baptist Church, 6231 Pole Green Rd, Mechanicsville, Virginia
When? Monday, January 20, 1:30-3:30pm
Many thanks to the Hanover County NAACP for hosting this event.

REGISTER FOR THE HANOVER EVENT

The National Day of Service is an opportunity to come together to honor King’s dream of making our world more equitable. Sylvia’s Sisters fights period poverty—the inability to afford or access menstrual products—by providing period product kits to schools and organizations in Central Virginia. These kits contain enough pads, tampons and liners to last one menstruator one month. At each party, we’ll have stations set up at which volunteers can pack kits with products. All supplies will be provided; just bring yourself!

All are welcome—seasoned volunteers or those who have never heard of our organization. Bring friends and family! Children and teens are welcome. Our staff is happy to sign off on volunteer hours.

Help Us Keep 1000 Girls in School

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With your help, Sylvia’s Sisters has provided 16,000 menstruators with period products this year. We want to help 1000 more by Dec. 31, 2024!

In order to hit this lofty goal, we need to raise $3000; with this amount, we’ll be able to give 1000 period product kits to local schools.

With your tax-deductible donation (donate here), you’re ensuring that no menstruator has to miss school due to a lack of period products. We want all students to know they have a steady supply of period products when they need them, so they can focus on their studies stress-free.

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Stories of Period Poverty: An Unhoused Family

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Too often, we at Sylvia’s Sisters hear heartbreaking stories of how the lack of period products deeply impacts the lives of low-income menstruators. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing some of these stories.

Today, we’re sharing a story from Pilar Ortiz-Waters, the program director at the Liberation Family Resource Center.

“The area the LFRC is located in is a food desert and 60% of people fall 200% under the poverty line. Through our food pantry, we welcome about 550 people a week…One day, an unhoused gentleman came through the pantry and took a chance to ask for pads for his wife. There is always a hesitation when people ask for things they do not think we have. When I let him know that I had some, he literally cried. He said that his wife could not come with him to the pantry because she was on her period and did not have pads. He had to leave her in the woods where they stayed and was eager to get back to her. He was fearful of her being alone. When he left, he told all of the people in line that we had period products. A few young girls approached me and asked if they could have some too. They let me know that their mother did not have any pads at home. I was able to serve them as well. Since collaborating with Sylvia’s Sisters, I always have products on hand and no longer have to say ‘no’ when someone asks.“