YaleBleeds

Our Mission:

YaleBleeds’s mission is to destigmatize menstruation and work towards menstrual equity at Yale, in New Haven, in Connecticut, in the United States, and beyond. This includes advocacy, education, and service/volunteering work. Advocacy work includes working to increase access to free menstrual products — both disposable and reusable — on campus or wider legislative work in communities outside Yale (such as New Haven Public Schools, Connecticut, and more). Education includes hosting workshops on period poverty and menstrual equity, sustainable menstrual products, the intersection of LGBTQ+ experiences with menstruation, reproductive rights, menstruation-related disorders, and more. Service/volunteering work includes hosting menstrual product donation drives and packing parties, working with Dwight Hall and other campus groups to serve local communities and those in need, and more.

Our Activities:

New Haven Public Schools Free Menstrual Products Project
Direct Service
Our goal is to get free menstrual products in all New Haven Public Schools’ middle and high schools. We have two main parts of the project: direct service and legislative advocacy. For direct service, we will fundraise to buy menstrual products to put in the schools (middle schools in low-income neighborhoods first, all middle schools, then high schools) and communicate with schools’ administrators to implement this project. At the same time, we hope to advocate for permanent free menstrual products in NHPS by working with the New Haven Board of Alders, school board, and individual schools.

Donation Drives and Packing Parties
Direct Service
Throughout the semester we hold multiple donation drives of menstrual products that we pack during our packing parties. Students, staff, and faculty can donate boxes of menstrual products and money for us to buy menstrual products. Once we have collected sufficient menstrual products for that particular drive, we organize a packing party where we sort the period products and pack them into baggies to hold a variety of period products. These packed products are then donated to distinct locations that can distribute to menstruators in-need.

Splash Workshops
Direct Service
YaleBleeds is back for another semester of teaching Splash workshops! YaleBleeds members will be instructing middle and high school students from Connecticut and New York through three distinct workshops. The first workshop, which we have taught for several years, cover content related to pads, periods, and period poverty. The other workshops, which were developed last semester by YaleBleeds members, detail the history of period stigma and systems surrounding reproductive longevity and menopause.

Yale School of Public Health Day of Service: Educational Workshops in the Community
Direct Service
In collaboration with students in the Yale School of Public Health, YaleBleeds members will help create and teach content for educational workshops on menstrual health that will be shared with high school students in the New Haven area during the Yale School of Public Health Day of Service

Self-Care and Movie Night
Direct Service
Join YaleBleeds on Sunday, April 28th at Silliflicks for a self-care movie night! We'll be discussing menstrual health, applying face masks, and munching on popcorn while we watch a movie related to women's rights.

Period Packing Parties
Direct Service
We will host packing parties to pack menstrual products into bags that cover one menstrual cycle and then donate them to shelters in need of menstrual products. We hope to collaborate with different organizations on campus, including Yale Undergraduate Prison Project's Reproductive Justice Initiative group, Yale PINK, and others.

Teach for Splash at Yale
Direct Service
YaleBleeds members will teach classes for the Splash at Yale program. Middle and high schoolers come to campus to take a class that students teach. YaleBleeds has taught about menstruation and menstrual equity in general in a class titled "Pads, Periods, and Period Poverty," about reproductive longevity, sustainable menstrual products, and "Period Attitudes Throughout History."

CHE Sex Fair
Direct Service
YaleBleeds is tabling at the CHE Sex Fair during reading week! We invite folks to stop by and answer questions about menstrual health for the chance to win a menstrual cup!

Menstrual Cup/Sustainable Menstrual Product Workshops
Advocacy, or Activism
Student leaders will lead menstrual cup workshops that Yale Students, staff, and faculty are welcome to attend. The workshops will focus on how to use a menstrual cup, but also discuss the benefits of using sustainable menstrual products. By incorporating anecdotes and creating a welcoming environment, the workshops look to remove the stigma surrounding menstruation. This will be hosted in various cultural centres around campus and the LGBTQ+ office.

Menstrual Health Workshop with Professor Claudia Valeggia
Advocacy, or Activism
Professor Claudia Valeggia will lead a menstrual health workshop during reading week that Yale Students, staff, and faculty are welcome to attend. The workshops will focus on process and anatomy through a scientific, healthcare-oriented lens, but also discuss the idea of "normality" in the menstrual cycle. By incorporating anecdotes and creating a welcoming environment, the workshops look to remove the stigma surrounding menstruation and its discussion. We hope the workshop will entice attendees to ask questions or share stories of their own.

Bulldog Days Outreach Events
Advocacy, or Activism
During Bulldog Days, YaleBleeds hosted three events: we participated in the Dwight Hall Night Market, spreading cheer with red velvet hot chocolate and chatting to first years about volunteering with YaleBleeds. We similarly participated in the Extracurricular Bazaar the following day. Finally, we hosted a friendship-bracelet making event to hear from first-years and current students about their interests in menstrual equity, and how we can support their passions in the fall through YaleBleeds.

Blood Banquet
Advocacy, or Activism
YaleBleeds and CORTEX are hosting a celebration of the launch of our collaborative BLOOD Zine on Tuesday, April 30th, from 7-9 pm! We will have a panel discussion with Yale professors on Blood and invite contributors to the Zine to discuss the meaning behind their works.

Sustainable Menstrual Products Workshop
Advocacy, or Activism
In collaboration with GREEN, Yale Women's Center, and other sustainability groups on campus, we will host a semesterly workshop teaching attendees how to use a menstrual cup. Menstrual cups will be provided for free to attendees, along with free pizza and a raffle for Victoria Secret's/PINK's period underwear.

Advocate for Free Menstrual Products with Yale College Council
Advocacy, or Activism
We will work with the Yale College Council to implement their proposal for putting free menstrual products and safe sex supplies in each residential college and academic buildings.

#EndEndoSilence Advocacy Event
Advocacy, or Activism
In collaboration with Zeppelin Universität, a German university, we will be hosting a hybrid panel event to raise awareness around endometriosis with #EndEndoSilence, a group of activists that is currently turning into an NGO. The hybrid panel event will feature speakers from Germany and the U.S., with a Q&A session to follow.

Period Action Day (PAD)
Advocacy, or Activism
On October 14th, 2023, we will celebrate Period Action Day with a combination of different advocacy activities. We hope to launch and expand a campaign to get support on administration approving free access to menstrual products in residential college bathrooms and classroom buildings. We want to create a petition to have the Yale community sign. At the same time, we would like to host a packing party in Bass Cafe where passersby can assist in creating period packs and also support the petition/campaign.

Storytelling & Sushi: Learn to Raise Your Voice for Reproductive Healthcare!
Advocacy, or Activism
At our Storytelling & Sushi event, we'll teach students at Yale University how to share their story to advance reproductive healthcare access, especially in relation to legislative proposals for this session of the Connecticut General Assembly. After the workshop, we will invite attendees to train as storytellers at Planned Parenthood!

Women's History Month Teach-In
Advocacy, or Activism
YaleBleeds is collaborating with Yalies 4 Palestine to host a teach-in in honor of Women's History Month. We'll discuss purple-washing, imperial feminism, and the current status of women in Gaza. Please join us for a thoughtful conversation on the intersections of menstrual equity and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

LOVE YOUR PERIOD: Paint & Sip
Advocacy, or Activism
Join Planned Parenthood Votes! Connecticut and YaleBleeds for a Valentine's Day paint and sip centered on menstrual care and period blood. Learn to love your period as we sip on non-alcoholic mocktails and reframe relationships with period blood through painting and education. Through this fun and interactive event, we'll challenge social stigmas and cultural narratives around menstrual blood while celebrating Valentine's Day!

In order to provide the correct number of painting supplies and beverages, pre-registration is required. The event is open to all Yale students, staff, and faculty. If you are in need of any particular accessibility accommodations, please include that in your registration.

Reproductive Technology Movie Screening and Packing Party
Advocacy, or Activism
In celebration of National Public Health Week, YaleBleeds is joining forces with the Yale Public Health Coalition to screen a movie on contemporary reproductive health issues and pack period products to donate to the community. After the documentary, we'll chat about advances in and challenges with today's reproductive technologies while stuffing kits with pads and tampons.

Fundraising
Fundraising
Engage Yale community to raise funds for or direct donation of menstrual products to expand access to menstrual products to menstruators in need. We may do bake sales, donations, raffles for giveaways, etc.

Student Leaders:

Itxel Sanchez Baez - Co-Coordinator/Co-President Maddy Corson - Co-Coordinator/Co-President