Student group combats period poverty with local advocacy, education efforts
PERIOD.'s SU chapter works to combat period poverty through education, advocacy and service. President Emma Ziff started the chapter at the beginning of the fall 2025 semester with initiatives to make menstrual product care packages. Courtesy of Ronit Hizgiaev
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Syracuse University’s PERIOD. chapter shows practical donations don’t just apply to clothing, but also extend to feminine hygiene products, President Emma Ziff said. Through education, advocacy and service, PERIOD. works to combat period poverty.
Founded by SU senior Ziff, the university’s chapter, like others, collaborates with the local community to normalize conversations surrounding period poverty. The group works together to effectively create change through legislation, donations and community engagement.
Period poverty affects more than a third of all teenagers in the city of Syracuse, CNY Central reported. The monetary cost of a menstrual cycle can reach $18,000 throughout a lifetime, between products and over-the-counter pain medication, according to HuffPost.
The lack of education surrounding menstrual cycles and reproductive health inspired Ziff to bring the national nonprofit to SU.
“There’s such a gap in hygiene product donations, and that a lot of times, can directly correlate with self-esteem and just how you combat your day,” Ziff said. “I’ve always been really passionate about feminism and issues regarding women, so I kind of combined it, started working toward combating period poverty and stigma.”
The broader PERIOD. organization was founded in 2014 to center youth voices in advocacy against period poverty, according to its website. The nonprofit has now expanded with chapters in over 40 states and 20 countries.
Ziff has been an advocate for period poverty since high school, she said. By creating care packages with menstrual products for local families and coordinating donation drives, she learned firsthand how period poverty mainly affects young adults.
PERIOD. at SU’s Vice President Ronit Hizgiaev said issues impacting women have also been a focus for her, and she was appointed to the position after having worked with domestic violence survivors in high school.
Hizgiaev wanted to work with PERIOD. to help women receive broader access to menstrual products. Period poverty is a “crucial cause” for her, and seeing other women in her life not able to acquire menstrual products is a “rough sight,” she said.
Period poverty restricts access to menstrual products for every one in four teens and one in three adult women across the United States, according to PERIOD’s website.
The nonprofit aims to meet monthly and has already successfully collaborated with two registered student organizations on campus, Letters of Love and Women in Communications.
“It’s been really nice for the community to come together and work, to come create these really cool events,” Ziff said.
With Letters of Love, the organizations wrote notes and created care packages to donate to the Vera House, a Syracuse-based nonprofit that helps women who’ve experienced domestic violence and sexual abuse.
The event with Women in Communications included resume building while discussing period poverty and other issues surrounding women’s liberation. Hizgiaev said through these partnerships, PERIOD. has received several donations to create period packs, bags filled with menstrual products and uplifting letters.
Courtesy of Ronit Hizgiaev
The broader PERIOD. organization was founded in 2014 to center youth voices in advocacy against period poverty. The nonprofit now has chapters in over 40 states and 20 countries.
“It was really special to tie both of our organizations and missions together to make an event like this,” Hizgiaev said. “We’re so thankful.”
The organization also works to educate the Syracuse community on the importance of addressing and eliminating period poverty in the area. Sophomore Lizzy Weiler, the social media manager, said educating at the college level is “important” to generate lasting change.
“Being able to give back to the community that I’ve since been able to call my home is really important, and in general, service for me is a really big value I have,” Weiler said.
The national nonprofit holds its annual global day of action on the second Saturday of October. Throughout the day, PERIOD. works to distribute feminine hygiene products and create policies to ensure free menstrual products. This past weekend, PERIOD. at SU received a donation of 150 period packs from the clothing store, Aerie, to honor the day.
Monetary and product donations are vital to the organization’s ability to function, Weiler said. SU’s chapter has held multiple fundraisers since the start of the year, including one with Purple Banana, with all proceeds going toward period packs.
“I see a really bright future,” Ziff said. “I think for just getting started, like it’s basically been a month so far, we’ve already had such an amazing turnout and donation and really cool participatory members.”
After about a month of active participation on campus, PERIOD. hopes to become an RSO and receive funding from SU’s Student Government Association to help create more period packs and host more events.
“Everything counts, whatever you donate, you support, however you do that,” Weiler said.”That’s doing so much, especially since we’re such a new organization, every person that comes to an event counts. Every person that shows up or donates matters.”
