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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it's estimated that 1 in 5 women in the U.S. had to decide whether to spend their money on food or period supplies. Some women resort to using socks, toilet paper, diapers, and cloth rags. These statistics are shocking and have to change. To make the change, we need to build a strong community. So today, as part of World Menstrual Hygiene Day, we are launching a new EndoFound program, PeriodNow, Because Periods Don't Stop for Pandemics.

At the core of the EndoFound mission is our commitment to tackling stigmas concerning menstruation. It's by talking about menstrual health, particularly our periods, that we will shorten the 7 to 10-year delay to diagnosing endometriosis, and we will make sure that no girls or women ever go without feminine hygiene products. Period talk is not taboo. We need to embrace it and discuss our periods with honesty and transparency.

Our PeriodNow mission is to tackle period poverty by getting products to people in need while also educating about endometriosis. There are still too many women that don't even know what endometriosis is.

Period equity lies at the core of women's public health. We welcome the challenge PeriodNow presents and look forward to sharing with you more exciting news in the next couple of weeks.

I want to thank our sponsors and partners who stepped up right away to help. Thank you, Period.org, Femstrate, Diva Cup, Key Foods, New York State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, Seckin Endometriosis Center, and NEO: Strategic Design, Behaviour Change & Capability Building for designing our website.

The PeriodNow campaign needs all of us. Please share it on social media, tell your friends about it, let us know where product is needed, make a donation, or consider becoming a sponsor. Together we can change the lives of so many women. PERIOD!

In community, 
Margaret Cianci

Executive Director, EndoFound

Everyone is shopping from home these days. It's our new norm for the time being. When shopping with Amazon, we ask you to please consider using Amazon Smile to support EndoFound. We receive a .5% donation from all qualifying purchases if you select us as your charity. Remember that you have to login at smile.amazon otherwise if you go straight to Amazon you’re not donating. You can also simply follow this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/20-4904437

With unemployment at a record-high, many women can no longer afford essentials such as tampons and pads. Adolescents who depended on schools to provide them are no longer able to access these supplies. 

EndoFound launched PeriodNow to coordinate with local agencies, businesses, and non-profits to provide women and girls in NYC with the period supplies they need but can't afford or access. 

EndoFound is happy to be partnering with Femstrate, founded by Mya Abdelwahab and Nicole Soret, two juniors at The Young Women's Leadership School of Astoria. They launched the social justice cause, Femstrate, to tackle period poverty to access the supplies for teens that are on-hand at schools. 

After writing a petition to Mayor De Blasio in April, Femstrate succeeded in connecting with the NYC Department of Education to request that pads and tampons currently in storage at the schools be distributed. Their successful endeavor resulted in those feminine hygiene products being given out at 211 of the city's meal hub sites. Thank you, Mya and Nicole! Great job. 

Step up with PeriodNow for period equity. Your donation will distribute menstrual hygiene products to those in need. Together let’s battle the ongoing stigma concerning menstruation and get those in need the essentials they deserve.

This past January, EndoFound was thrilled to collaborate with Jenna Wiebe, the artist who designs anatomy illustrations that visually reclaim pain, to make the EndoFoundxDuvetDays Endometriosis Anatomy Tote Bag.

Now you have a chance to snag one. With a $85 or more donation to the PeriodNow campaign to end period poverty, you’ll receive an original, limited edition EndoFoundxDuvet Days Endometriosis Anatomy tote bag. Please note, this gift is only available to the first 200 people who donate, as there is a limited supply of these one-of-a-kind tote bags!

EndoFound sat down with Dr. Erin Greaves, Assistant Professor at Warwick Medical School in the UK, to talk about the research grant she received from EndoFound in 2018. Dr. Greaves discussed how her team has been investigating mouse models of endometriosis to find a model that is most representative of the pathology of endometriosis in women. She explained that this is critical for research on endometriosis, as researchers need the "most physiologically relevant pre-clinical platforms" to test new therapies and find new therapeutic targets. Dr. Greaves also talked about other projects she is working on related to macrophages, a type of immune cell that is involved in the pathophysiology of endometriosis which contributes to pain. This work is trying to determine the source of these macrophages and the specific types that promote disease.

Subscribe to EndoNews for the latest in endometriosis research from around the world, and contribute to these researchers’ mission to improve the lives of endo patients by donating today.

We’re thrilled to welcome Jody Grobman to EndoFound’s board! Jody is the first parent of an endo patient on our board, and we’re delighted to have her leadership and commitment to improving the lives of individuals with endometriosis.

Endometriosis research and education are key areas in which Jody hopes to contribute to the board’s mission—and she’s already hard at work. Jody wasted no time diving into her new position by getting involved with PeriodNow. Jody and her husband Richard, who is on the board at Key Food Stores, secured a $10,000 donation from Key Foods to seed the campaign and  thousands of feminine hygiene products that will be distributed in New York City.

“A lot of girls depended on their schools and other places for hygiene products, but now they can’t get them because of the pandemic,” Jody said. “I think PeriodNow is an amazing initiative, especially right now.”

Team EndoFound is running the 50th Anniversary NYC Marathon in November! One of our team members, Gates Palissery, has already jump-started her fundraising. Gates’ sister told her she had endometriosis early last May. Gates wanted to show her support, and when she started researching EndoFound and the work involved in educating and supporting endometriosis research, she had the idea to raise money in her sister’s honor.

Gates’ younger sister, Mason, got her into running when they were both in college in 2016. “We went to the same group runs and made great friends,” Gates writes, “but even more important, running brought us closer together as sisters. When I saw that EndoFound had a charity team for the New York Marathon, all the pieces started to fall into place. Mason has guaranteed entry and we've never run a marathon together, so running the New York Marathon would be an amazing way to support her and make a difference. There was no question about it, I needed to do everything I could to make this happen, so I joined Team EndoFound!”

“I'm fundraising so I can run in my sister's honour,” Gates adds. “Endometriosis isn’t just a word to me anymore, it's a disease with a face: my sister's.”

Gates is a writer and as part of her fundraising efforts, she’s offering critiques and workshops to other writers. She’s happy to help with Twitter pitches, queries, and manuscript critiques, all to raise money for EndoFound. If you’re interested, please contact her at Gates.Palissery@gmail.com for more information or contact her on Twitter @Gateskp.

Thank you, Gates, and all our runners for your critical and inspirational commitment to endometriosis! You can support Gates here. And we still have a few spots left on our team! Fill out the interest form below to run with Team EndoFound.

Thank you to everyone across the country who has fundraised in support of endometriosis! From birthday fundraisers on Facebook to running 5Ks, you make it happen. With your help, we can continue working towards increasing endometriosis awareness, education, advocacy, and research. To create a fundraiser, please set up your fundraiser on Facebook.

Follow the EndoFound on social media and be the first to hear about new research, program updates, or different ways to get involved. Our platforms provide a safe and supportive environment to connect people from around the world. Please visit our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and give us any feedback you may have by commenting on our posts or direct messaging us!

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