Nicky Dawkins, President of PERIOD Miami and Macielle Betances, Vice-President lead the community in normalizing periods, changing the narrative of menstruating from shame to empowerment.
Miami, FL – May. 12, 2018 – The Wynwood Yard, a Wynwood staple for family fun and great eats, opened its doors to welcome the first-ever PERIOD Miami Period Packing Party on a rainy Saturday.
Nicky Dawkins, Creative Director of HypeGirls -a femme health website whose focus is bringing women together and encouraging them to lead healthy and successful lifestyles – launched PERIOD Miami to spread the message of period positivity.
PERIOD is a non-profit organization, co-founded by young activist Nadya Okamoto and Vincent Forand as high school students in 2014. The duo realized menstrual products are not reliably available to those who need them most.
The first ever PERIOD Packing Party was greeted by heavy rain but that did not stop Dawkins and Betances from beaming their positive light at The Wynwood Yard. The two quickly took to their PERIOD Miami Instagram page to make attendees aware that rain or shine the party was still on.
The volunteers arrived, with overwhelming donations and helping hands. Nerissa Irving, a chapter officer, and owner of Nene Femme Health arrived with her beautiful daughters in tow and a generous donation of one hundred organic pads, as well as educating cards for the young ladies.
The Packing Party welcomed an open and honest sincerity with women and young girls telling their menstruation stories. Many of them shared their hopes for the future and the importance of empowering people who menstruate instead of shaming them. From hiding their pads and tampons on their way to the restroom to having to conceal the reason they weren’t feeling their best to save embarrassment, these women all wanted to be unapologetically themselves.
Together, they serviced over one hundred and fifty periods. The Period Packs contained enough supplies to service a full cycle of five to seven days. From stamping bags to stuffing and folding these people made a difference in their community. The packs were then donated to the women of Lotus House and The Beauty Initiative Inc.
Ultimately, PERIOD Miami wants to see a shift in consciousness, “we hope to achieve the continuance of this powerful conversation. Normalizing the period is just another layer of freedom to be our true and natural selves.” Betances says.
The PERIOD Packing parties will take place every other month, follow PERIOD Miami on Instagram to be notified of upcoming packing party dates.
