Justice Necessary, a Colorado nonprofit working to combat period and hygiene poverty, has launched PeriodPalooza. This statewide initiative is supporting Colorado schools with the implementation of House Bill 24-1164, which ensures that middle and high school students have access to free period products in all female and gender-neutral bathrooms. PeriodPalooza will feature five volunteer-driven events and aims to pack and distribute more than two million menstrual products for students.

The events aim to bring more than 1,900 volunteers together to pack one-month period care kits for local students. Each event will also serve as the distribution point for schools and organizations receiving period products and dispensers through Justice Necessary’s Menstrual Product Grant, expanding the reach and impact of this effort even further. Justice Necessary will be awarding 1,371 dispensers and more than 2.5 million pads and tampons to 460 schools from 87 cities across all 5 regions of Colorado through these combined efforts.

According to studies done by Justice Necessary, an increasing number of Colorado students have experienced gaps in their education due to a lack of period products, and more than 90 percent of Colorado teens have started their period unexpectedly in public without the necessary supplies available. Additionally, 66 percent of teens have experienced the inability to participate in extracurricular activities due to a lack of access to period products.

Diane Cushman Neal, Founder and President of Justice Necessary, says, “We launched PeriodPalooza across Colorado to bring communities and schools together to pack and distribute over 2.5 million period products—helping us do the work to ensure students have what they need to stay in school. But these events aren’t just about packing products; they’re about raising awareness of the barriers students face and reminding us all that access to period products just is necessary.”

If you’re interested in donating, or volunteering for a two-hour shift at any PeriodPalooza event, visit justicenecessary.org. No experience required for volunteering.

PERIOD PALOOZA EVENTS
– Fort Collins
Monday, May 5 from 10am–4pm
Fort Collins Hilton Garden Inn
– Pueblo
Wednesday, May 7 from 10am–4pm
Pueblo Convention Center
– Grand Junction
Saturday, May 10 from 10am–4pm
Grand Junction Holiday Inn & Suites
– Colorado Springs
Wednesday, May 14 from 10am–4pm
Colorado Springs Hilton Garden Inn North
– Denver
Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, from 9am–5pm
Sheraton Denver Tech Center