Period Promise 2026 Count

Last Updated: March 16, 2026

About Period Promise

Menstruation products are a basic necessity. But if you’re living in poverty – or vulnerable in other ways – access to tampons, pads, cups, or period underwear can be challenging. 

With the cost of living on the rise, the priority of food, housing or bills overtakes that of menstrual products. In fact, menstrual hygiene products are one of the most requested, yet least donated items at food banks. Understandably, low-income individuals find it difficult to budget for this monthly expense. Many simply cannot afford them.

Inaccessible menstrual products translate to isolation, mental stress, sick days, and missed opportunities.

United Way makes period products accessible so community members don’t have to face the pressures that come with a lack of safe products. Period product and financial donations are collected and items are provided to community partners, food banks, and local agencies across Peterborough City and County.

The tenth annual Period Promise campaign (formerly Tampon Tuesday) is just getting started, and will wrap up in mid-March 2026.

Please drop off product at our office (277 Stewart Street) between now and March 13, 2026.
Monday to Friday, 9:00AM – 5:00PM

 

Other Drop Off Locations:

KWIC’s International Women’s Day 2026 Rally & Community Event
Saturday March 7
with drop off outside City Hall at 11:30AM before the march,
or at the Peterborough Public Library from 12:30PM – 3:30PM

The Tiffany Show’s International Women’s Day Party
Sunday March 8
at The Venue

(doors open at 10AM for the 11AM-2PM event).

The Red Tent
Saturday March 14
from 8AM-1PM
at the Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market
(Lower Level of Peterborough Square, 340 George Street North)
with thanks to Heather Litster of Moon & Bloom.

City Hall
Until March 13
500 George St. N.
Monday to Friday, 8:30AM – 4:30PM

Miskin Law Community Complex
Until March 13
271 Lansdowne St. W.
Monday to Sunday, 6:00AM – 11:00PM  

Peterborough Public Library
Until March 13
345 Aylmer St. North
Monday to Friday, 10:00AM – 7:00PM, and Saturday & Sunday, 10:00AM – 5:00PM


FREE Period Promise Workshop
Monday March 16 at 10:00AM
United Way Peterborough & District Office, 277 Stewart Street

RSVP Required

Heather Litster (@heatherlitster__) founder of Moon and Bloom, and host of the Community Red Tent will teach Body Literacy Basics during our Period Promise workshop. She will dive into the menstrual health foundations that many folks were not taught in school. This informal workshop welcomes all ages and genders and will cover the anatomy of the uterus, how different period products work, what hormones are at play during menstruation and menopause and how those hormones impact mental & physical health. You can expect to leave this juicy workshop with actionable tools for cyclical compassion and a better understanding of the menstruating body’s functions.

Meagan Vaughan is the Women & HIV/AIDS Initiative (WHAI) Coordinator at Peterborough AIDS Resource Network (PARN). Meagan works with cis and trans women, and gender diverse community members who are living with HIV/AIDS and those who are at risk of acquiring HIV to build community capacity of addressing stigma, discrimination and accessibility of services with local service providers and the community at large. Through her work with women experiencing unique vulnerabilities relating to homelessness, substance use, newcomer status in Canada, and Indigenous identity, Meagan will discuss issues surrounding period poverty and inadequate access to personal wellness and hygiene necessities and ways that we as a community can work together to combat this.


If you’d like to get more involved with our 2026 Period Promise campaign, please do not hesitate to reach out! We’d be happy to help you setup a collection at your workplace, share educational resources, or chat about any other ideas you may have.

Join us and tell every person their basic needs matter, PERIOD.

Special thanks to Peterborough & District Labour Council, Kawartha Food Share, and kawarthaNOW for their support of this year’s Period Promise campaign.

For more information, please contact:

Elisha Rubacha – Community Impact Officer
Desk: 705-742-8839 x 33
Email: erubacha@uwpeterborough.ca

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✨ Half the world is under 30. In Canada, that’s 35% of us.

Young people aren’t just the future, they’re changemakers right now. 💪

On #InternationalYouthDay, United Way Peterborouh & District celebrates their leadership, their courage, and their vision for a better world. 🌟💛
🎒🚗 What a day! We filled the Fords and our hearts @autoconnectsales

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to Fill the Fords on Saturday, donated supplies, volunteered, sponsored the event, grabbed a BBQ lunch courtesy of @kingstmarket, enjoyed some ice cream from @central_smith, and helped us celebrate the incredible generosity of our community.

We’re so grateful to Auto Connect Sales, our sponsors, community partners, volunteers, media friends, and every single person who helped make this day possible. Your support will help local students start the school year feeling prepared, confident, and ready to learn.

But we’re not done yet! 🎒

There’s still time to help. If you haven’t had a chance to donate, we’re collecting new backpacks and school supplies at the United Way Peterborough & District office and at participating community collection locations until THIS FRIDAY, August 14!

Every backpack, every box of crayons, every notebook and every donation helps us get closer to ensuring local students have the tools they need to succeed.

✨Comment “BACK TO SCHOOL” and we’ll send you the full list of participating businesses running supply drives.
Exciting News! 💫 The Reaching Home deadline has been extended!

Applicants now have until Wednesday, August 19 to submit your proposals.

Please keep in mind: 
👉 Applications will be reviewed based on alignment to the following community priorities:
• Creating, preserving, and enabling equitable access to housing
• Eviction prevention
• Outreach
👉 Funding covers the period October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2028
👉 New application deadline August 19, 2026

ℹ️ What is Reaching Home? It's a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.

Apply today at uwpeterborough.ca
We 💙 GM Financial!

A huge thank you to our friends at GM Financial for dropping off our first Backpacks for Success donations of the season! We’re so grateful for partnerships like these in our community. 

💡 As part of their workplace drive, employees received a work from home day in exchange for making a donation. What a creative way to encourage workplace giving!

Our Backpacks for Success supply drives wrap up on August 14, but there is still time to help! Join us on August 8 at Auto Connect Sales for our Fill the Fords event. We’ll be there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. collecting school supplies, so stop by, say hello, and help us fill the Fords! 👋🎒
We’re growing, evolving, and looking for an experienced Director, Finance & Administration to join our Senior Leadership Team.

This is an opportunity to help shape the future of United Way Peterborough & District by providing strategic leadership across finance, administration, governance, and organizational operations, ensuring we remain a strong and sustainable partner for our community.

📍 Peterborough, ON
💼 Full-time
💰 Starting salary: $83,106; salary range up to $93,536
📅 Apply by August 14, 2026

Interested or know someone who’d be a great fit? Visit our website [link in bio] to learn more and apply, and please help us spread the word by sharing this opportunity within your networks.
❤️Won’t you be our neighbour? 

Stay tuned, @_thetiffanyshow will be sharing the full story (and her inspiring Campaign Chair speech) soon. You won’t want to miss this!

#CertifiedNeighbour #UnitedWayPTBO
Don't miss out 👉 United Way Peterborough is now accepting applications for the Reaching Home program!

ℹ️ What is Reaching Home?
Reaching Home is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada by providing funding to communities to address local housing and homelessness needs.

Important details:
⭐ Applications will be reviewed based on alignment to community priorities, including:
• Creating, preserving, and enabling equitable access to housing
• Eviction prevention
• Outreach

⭐ The funding period is October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2028

📅 Applications close August 4, 2026.

Apply today at uwpeterborough.ca
Meaningful conversations are the first step toward meaningful change. This morning, our CEO, Jason Seguya, had the opportunity to meet with MP Harrison (@emmaaharrisonmp) to discuss some of the most pressing challenges facing our communities.

Part of the conversation focused on the recently published Financial Anxiety Index, a national research project undertaken by United Way Centraide Canada and conducted by Léger. The findings are clear: nearly half of Canadians say they could cover their basic expenses for only one month or less if their income were interrupted, and many report that their financial situation has worsened in recent months. The research also highlights that single parents, newcomers, and young people are among those experiencing the greatest financial strain.

Jason also had the opportunity to elaborate on United Way Peterborough & District’s role as the Community Entity for the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home program. For more than a decade, we have worked with local partners to administer federal homelessness funding, convene organizations across the sector, and support innovative, collaborative responses that help prevent and reduce homelessness in our community. Since 2020, more than $8 million in Reaching Home funding has been distributed locally to strengthen supports and services for those experiencing homelessness.

We appreciate the opportunity to share these insights and discuss the importance of coordinated community responses to poverty, housing insecurity, and homelessness. We look forward to continuing the conversation with MP Harrison in the months ahead as we work together to build a stronger, more connected community.
Breaking News: Jimothy has officially RSVP'd to our Fill the Fords event on August 8! 🎉

Want to join #Jimothy? Stop by Auto Connect between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to donate new school supplies in support of our Backpacks for Success initiative. Together, we'll help fill the Fords and backpacks so that students of all ages can start the school year with the tools they need to succeed . 🎒📚💙
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