By Jess Matthews

We made international news this year!

Last year we did a blog post summarising what The SuPer Project got up to over the year. Ever the ones to enjoy traditions we’ve decided to do another blog post for 2024. We have had another great year and have enjoyed getting to meet even more people across events. This year we also made international news! More on that later. We want to thank everyone that has supported the project this year, you are all SuPer!

Jess with Charlotte Simpson being interviewed for BBC Radio 1

In February Jess was interviewed by Charlotte Simpson at BBC Radio 1. Charlotte interviewed Jess at home about what we do here at the project and how the cost-of-living crisis has affected people living in period poverty. Jess also walked her through the process of making our pads to give her a better understanding of how much time, thought and attention goes into our products.

Mel and Jess at the Nottingham Council House for International Women’s Day

March was a good month at SuPer, the team attended International Women’s Day at the Nottingham Council House. We were able to talk to other organisations that support women living in Nottingham and make some valuable connections. Then on the 14th of March the BBC Radio 1 interview was aired on Newsbeat and the full article went live on the BBC news website. Click here to read. We are so pleased that our project has begun to have more media coverage. National news was a surprise, but we didn’t stop there… Jess was then contacted by Karolina Benedyk, a reporter from the German newspaper Das Spiegel. She was interviewed again about period poverty and how prominent of an issue it is in the UK. We unfortunately can’t link the article due to it being behind a paywall.

Mel and Jess at Nottingham Trent University for SHAG week

In April Mel and Jess attended SHAG (sexual health and guidance) week at Nottingham Trent University. It was a 2-day event with one day at City Campus and one day at Clifton campus, and got to talk to students about the project, period poverty and also gathered their ideas on what period poverty is. The answers students gave were interesting for us and it has enabled us to refine the education aspect of what we do. In addition to this we also had some interactive anatomy diagrams, which was effectively a ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ exercise but with more vaginas involved.

At the start of July we joined Tiger at the Keyworth show an event we loved going to each year as it gives us a chance to meet with people from the wider county. We had some great in-depth chats with people about their personal menstrual stories. Then at the end of July we had Nottingham Pride. This year we decided to do something a bit different and handed out 100 period survival kits. These included pads, tampons, condoms, merch, information about period poverty and some fun items like sweets. We had an absolutely fabulous day, we marched, danced, sang and ate great food. We always look forward to Notts Pride and this year did not disappoint.

September means one thing, the Green Festival! This is an event we attend every year alongside Tiger. This event is great for discussing the environmental side of what we do and discuss the wide range of reusable options available for period management.

Then at the end of October Jess was on the radio again. She was interviewed live by BBC Radio Nottingham about the project and period poverty. This was a little unexpected as she was only contacted the night before she was interviewed but nevertheless was another great opportunity to get our message out and to educate people on period poverty.

Tina holding our Pride sign and marching with us

As 2024 draws to an end we again wanted to thank everyone that has supported us this year. Another thing that is very important to mention is Mel started her Doctorate exploring menstrual stigma and societal discourses surrounding menstruation. We are all so proud of Mel for taking this next leap in her education and doing her doctorate in something she has a burning passion for. Next year we are hoping to attend more events and further our reach for offering education on period poverty. We still ultimately want to continue with our mission of making sustainable periods accessible to everyone and are looking forward to the adventures this will take us on in 2025.