Free sustainable period products will be distributed in community hubs across Worcester as a charity has joined forces with a social enterprise group to eradicate period poverty in the UK.

Worcester Community Trust (WCT) has announced its official partnership with social enterprise Hey Girls who aim to improve access to quality products and increase education around period health to eliminate shame and stigma around periods.

The partnership will see WCT receiving a wide range of free sustainable period products for all women’s hormonal needs, which they will be distributing in all its community hubs in Worcester, as well as across five other districts via its JOY Project team.

Hey Girls UK are able to provide this service thanks to their Buy One, Donate One business model, meaning that every product sold generates a donation to someone facing period poverty. They distribute a range of products including tampons, period pants and reusable period pads via their UK wide community partner network who work on the front line to support vulnerable people.

JoRae, JOY Project manager at WCT and vocal advocate for menstruation and menopause awareness, was instrumental in negotiating this partnership.

She said: “Period poverty is real, ongoing and needs to become normalised in daily conversations professionally, socially and within families. Shame prevents so many women accessing products or safely using them, and this has to stop, period.”

The JOY Project at WCT is a female and female identifying project supporting any woman to access wellbeing courses, skills, volunteering opportunities or signposting through their own journey, whatever that looks like.

JOY has recently been awarded funding to extend their services across Malvern, Evesham, Bromsgrove, Kidderminster and Redditch as well as continuing the successful Worcester based delivery. JOY will be taking HeyGirls products to all of its project hubs across the county.

A group of women from the JOY Project attended a workshop at The Building Block, Worcester Community Trust’s Construction Training Centre, on Tuesday, August 8, to build wooden boxes which will encase the Hey Girls products.

One attendee commented: “I enjoyed making the box and had a wonderful time. The staff were very friendly and encouraging."

If you would like to find out more about the JOY Project, visit: worcestercommunitytrust.org.uk/joy or email joy@worcestercommunitytrust.org.uk.