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From now on, our wonderful testers will be updating our site with some insights based on their experiences with the Mooncup. We aren’t advocating that everyone should use them, but we do want women to realise that there are alternatives that are more ecological and can save money over time.

Both our testers agreed to do a very short ‘pre-use’ statement, outlining their thoughts before they started to use the Mooncup.

We are very grateful to both Surina and Shakira.

Tester 1.

The worries so far are; if you can use in the bath? I guess so as same principles as a tampon? I don’t do swimming so not overly fussed….little nervous about toxic shock but if its a game changer; I can live with my anxiety over that….
I have read I don’t need to take it out when I go for a wee which is always a bonus! Haha….feeling a bit apprehensive about how long the stem will be and if I need to cut it that I am mindful not to cut it too short so I can still have enough to pull it out with! Haha!! 😂 I still have a couple of weeks left before I can actually try it out but am excited to hopefully have a cleaner period!

Tester 2.

In a few weeks my next period will start and it will be my first time using the Mooncup. I’m definitely a little nervous, I’ve never really tried anything like this before, so the unfamiliarity of the Mooncup has raised a fair few questions! I’m still unsure of how to know if it’s in properly, or how to take it out to clean or once I’m done using it. I’m curious if I will be comfortable exercising with it, or if I can use it in the bath. I’ve read that it can help reduce pain from cramps, so hopefully I will see an reduction with cramp pain.

t’s been a few weeks since my last blog so before anything else I have to apologise as I always intended on this being a fortnightly blog. However, we have had a very, very busy few weeks.
Firstly, our #100Women campaign has been an absolutely huge success reaching its target within three months of its inception. This is totally due to the amazing support we have had from our social media followers and friends.

For those of you who haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about this campaign was the idea of one of our more creative Trustees, Sue Moffat. Sue suggested that we have a campaign to coincide with the centenary of some women getting the vote and we asked that women donate to our fundraising and either add their name to our #WallofFame or nominate another woman.

This was also open to men to nominate a woman of choice. We had an amazing response as this seemed to capture everyone’s imagination and our target was achieved in a short space of time. So a very big thankyou to Sue Moffat for a brilliant idea. It’s nice to have clever people on our team.
Secondly, we have been invited to have a stand at the upcoming FoodFest in Newcastle-under-Lyme on Saturday 22nd September so if you are local please come along and say hello. I really hope that the weather is kind as my hair looks shocking when wet.

Is that vain?

Thirdly, we have been busy talking with various groups around the regions and asking, begging, pleading for donations. This seems to have worked as we have had some very kind donations from some of our Stoke-on-Trent City Councillors and from Unite Union. If we didn’t have this kind of support we could not do the work which we intend doing. Lastly, on to the work which we intend spending this money on. Our next project is called #AllOurSchools and we are aiming to supply all of our local high schools with sanitary pads for all of their girls. Most of the schools are now on board and it is now up to us to fulfil the promise which Ruth Rosenau and myself made in an interview with Radio Stoke when we said that we would supply every school which needed our
help. It’s looking like almost every high school in the Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford areas will be supplied by us on a regular basis.

During the last few weeks we have still supported all the charities in our area who need our help.
Told you it’s been busy.
I need a gin and tonic.

Speak to you all soon, Linda.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-44138359/period-power-brings-free-sanitary-towels-to-school

At Period Power we are constantly looking at ways to help our fellow sisters during what may be the painful, mood-swinging monthly cycle.

The Mooncup provides an ecological alternative to pads and tampons. It’s reusable, so you’re not constantly throwing away wrappers or pads and tampons. Instead, you wash it after each use and it’s good to go! This alternative to traditional products provides women with a more sustainable product and in the long term, can be cheaper. This therefore reduces the amount of waste that is concomitant with sanitary products, which come with plastic and fibres that can’t be fully recycled.

Mooncup are produced by an ethical business run by women and is certified by the Vegan Society. On average a woman spends six and a half years of her life menstruating. During that time, she would use around 11,000 disposable sanitary products. That’s a lot. Not only is that costly, but there is always the impact on the environment to consider. These products will remain on our planet far longer than we will as sanitary products can take centuries to biodegrade.

The cost of a Mooncup is the equivalent to the average cost you would spend on sanitary products over a six to eight month period, so anything after that it a saving; as long as you care for the cup properly, you can safely use it for years. The cost can be off-putting for some and searching the internet can give prices ranging from around £10-£20. The cleaning of the cup may also make these products unfeasible for some. Access to clean water so that the Mooncup can be thoroughly cleaned as recommended is a necessity and we are aware of cultural requirements that may make them unsuitable.

We are pleased to announce our two test-drivers for our Mooncup trial,
Mooncup blogger
Surina has children and has heavy periods.
Mooncup blogger
Shakira is a young university student who has severe cramp when on her periods.

We look forward to their blogs and thank both Surina and Shakira in advance for their honesty and openness.
Some women have rejected the menstrual cup claiming it’s the new cup of vintage-shopping, tree-hugging, flat-white drinking, vegan hipsters. Please. This isn’t a political statement.

It’s just a feminine hygiene product. One that works too.

We have been tagged in on many posts about the Scottish government supplying all their high schools with sanitary products. We have pushed and pushed our government to do the same with absolutely no response. So we think this is a good time to announce our next project. Period Power will do for our schools what our government refuses to do.
We aim to supply every high school that needs our help in Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford with sanitary protection for all the students in need.
We have already begun to supply a number of schools in these areas but there are still many to supply. This is where you guys can help.
Firstly if you have any connections or contacts with your local high school please let us know.
Secondly…..and I am sure you know what’s coming……we will need more funding for this. You can donate here on our website under the donate section, or why not check out our Facebook page, Period Power @alallbutt where you can also donate.

This campaign is called #AllOurSchools Please support us.

Sad news from Salford as £2,500 of sanitary items and nappies stolen from Salford food bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/20/2500-pounds-sanitary-items-nappies-stolen-salford-food-bank-period-poverty

North Ayrshire Council said it was the first UK local authority to extend free provision of sanitary products to all libraries, community centres and other public offices. Well done to them. Initiatives like this are crucial to alleviating period poverty.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-45209010#

Well it’s been a couple of weeks since my last blog and we have been extremely busy, which is really a bit of a double-edged sword as you can imagine. The reason we are busier is that there are more women who need our support and that is not a good thing.

Firstly, Ruth and I went along to Radio Stoke to be interviewed by Liz Ellis which was arranged for us by the lovely Sarah Robertson. We have to say a big “thank you” to both Sarah and Liz for giving Period Power the platform on which to raise awareness of the plight of many women and we hope to work with them again in the future.

If you want to check it out we have it on an earlier blog so, please do listen to what we had to say.

I had a meeting with Jayne Fair from FoodFest in Staffordshire and discussed how we could showcase Period Power at the upcoming event of FoodFest in Newcastle-under-Lyme in September. Hopefully the weather will hold up for this event as I don’t do
rain at all. So, pray for good weather.

Another day, another interview. This time with Yasmine from BBC World Arabic who wanted to talk about the effects of poverty on women and how they deal with this. We began at The House of Bread in Stafford who help and support many vulnerable women, whether they are homeless or struggling in other ways. We then went on to The Signpost Centre in Stafford where Yasmine
interviewed Fran and Ashley who were both very complimentary about us. Finally, we called in to see the fabulous Dickie James, the CEO of Staffordshire Women’s Aid, who support women and children who have been subjected to abuse of all kinds.

It was a busy day but a very fruitful and satisfying day as hopefully our message will travel further afield. Other days were filled with either collecting donations from some of our wonderful supporters or delivering to the charities which we are supporting. So, all in all it’s been a very busy time over the last couple of weeks. Whatever happened to my retirement plans??

Oh, and one more thing. We have managed to complete our #100WomenCampaign by getting to the grand number of 100 donations in a much quicker time than I could ever have imagined. This is down to the fabulous and unstinting support we get from our friends and our followers on social media. I am astounded at the generosity of people, some of who don’t have much themselves.

I just want to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to each and every one of them for achieving this for us.

Oh, and just one other thing, in my next blog I will be telling you all about our next campaign. Bet you can’t wait.

This morning, Linda and Ruth were interviewed by Radio Stoke about Period Power and what we are trying to do to alleviate the problems associated with period poverty.

Radio Stoke highlighted the work we are doing to help our young women in schools across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, many of whom are missing out on education because their families are experiencing period poverty.

Please use the link below to the BBC iPlayer. The main interview is around 21 minutes into the show.

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06dkd6s

Hi, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Linda Allbutt and I am the founder of Period Power. As you will have seen from our website we are a group of women who have joined forces to do our very best to raise awareness of the plight of some women which is now known as “period poverty”.

We are determined to do our very best to eradicate this iniquity in our society and with your help we may well achieve this.

As you get to know me you will see that I sometimes use a little humour to get my message across but the underlying message is always very, very serious, as we are, in our determination to help the most vulnerable women in our communities.

Now to the serious business. I think, and I hope you all agree, that to even have the discussion about “period poverty” in 21st century UK is an absolute failure on behalf of the people who ultimately make the choices about the type of society in which we find ourselves. However, we will not allow “these people” to continue down this path of injustice without a little prick (or big prick) to their consciences every now and then.

Currently Period Power is supplying almost 50 charities and schools in the Staffordshire area. These include foodbanks, women’s refuges, charities for asylum seekers and refugees, homeless charities, children’s charities, mental health charities etc. However, we are now facing one of the biggest challenges to us to date. We are trying to supply all the high schools in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme with sanitary pads. This is one of the most emotive challenges which we face. Hundreds of young women (because they are women once they have begun the “bloody” arduous task of menstruation) are losing many days each month because they simply do not have access to basic sanitary protection. These young women are our future.

We will be successful in our attempts to achieve this mammoth task, but we will always need the help of you guys as we need to get the message across to the people who make decisions, and this can be done if YOU just give us a little of your time and speak to people who may be in a position to change government policy (you know who I mean).

I have been told to keep this concise and interesting so maybe I should shut up right now and let you digest what you have just read. Just a word of warning though, I may get a little more graphic in my future posts. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

In solidarity

Linda