WHY IT MATTERS
Because those we serve are deserving of the same empathy, empowerment, and care that we are.
Poverty brings additional challenges for women. In Virginia, 251,382 women and girls of menstruating age (12-44) live below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line. 1 in 5 Virginia residents lack the access to period supplies they need, rendering them unable to work, attend school, or fulfill commitments.
Access to menstrual supplies poses an unreasonable financial burden for someone living in poverty, forcing them to choose which of their basic needs will be fulfilled or abandoned.
As a consequence, women and girls use less than adequate methods to manage their menstruation, or do without completely - resulting in long term physical and emotional consequences. The widening income gap between the affluent and poor makes matters worse and is in line with an increasing access-to-necessities gap.
New bras, underwear, and period supplies are rarely donated; are expensive for shelters, schools, food banks and refugee centers to replenish; and cannot be purchased using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance programs.
The products we provide are among the items most requested by disadvantaged women and girls.
BRAWS seeks to prevent the unsanitary conditions, health issues, and embarrassment that lack of these products can cause.
In addition to the economic burden, data also shows that most girls drop out of sports and after school activities around 12 years old, which is often attributed to a lack of access to critical resources, such as bras, underwear, pads, and tampons, that are needed to manage their changing bodies.
When a girl cannot afford basic needs - freedom, opportunity, and dignity are sadly stripped away 4-7 days each month - a menstruating person spends an average of 15-20% of their year having their period.
These same girls often have low school attendance, missing multiple days of class every month without access to menstrual supplies and undergarments.
At BRAWS, we aim to fix this inequity by ensuring that all people who need menstrual supplies and fitting undergarments are able to have regular access to these basic necessities.