Yanique Brandford’s
Our Founder Story
“Growing up in Jamaica—access to essential materials like sanitary pads was a luxury. Most of what we had we needed to spend making sure we could eat or get to school. By the end of the month, we couldn’t afford sanitary pads. We would use paper, cardboard—and a range of other things to meet our needs. When I got to Canada I realized that this wasn’t tied to geography. It was global—and in Toronto, the need was really there. So I started Help A Girl Out in 2018. Since then we’ve delivered thousands of hygiene materials to women and girls in across Canada, and around the world.”
The 3 pillars of our organization
- Providing free access to reusable & disposable period products
- Provide workshops to educate all ages about menstruation, uterine health and anatomy.
- Empower women & girls with year-round anti-stigma campaigns to build self-esteem, and eliminate period stigma.
Community is our focus
We’ve built relationships with many who have struggled to afford period products, who’ve been excluded from basic activities, and who’ve faced shame from their families. Help A Girl Out is a resource and community for them. Our team, donors, volunteers, packers, sorters, sewers, and drivers all shape the interconnected network of our organization.
Translators enable us to bridge the language gap and offer accessible programing to individuals from all ethnicities
Diversity is our responsibility
Like the communities we serve, we are a welcoming, diverse & multi-generational group of individuals. Together we work to dismantle the root causes of period poverty, which are; shame, stigma, lack of education and access.
Empathy is our guide
We lead from experience and with care. We have faced period poverty ourselves, and we have heard the stories from the perspective of individuals from various religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We are a people-first organization— we care deeply for those we support.
We’re Championing:
Our Funders
Support our efforts on the ground.
We know where period poverty needs to be fought. We’re already on the front lines, listening, connecting, and caring. We just need your help fighting it.
