A conversation with Geoff Davis, founder of Period Kits Ohio, on stigma, satellite chapters, and the conversation that set him on this road.
Product drive with Beauty Boost Dayton
A few years ago, Geoff Davis sat down with a woman who was living in her car. She told him something that has stayed with him ever since: she’d had food and tampons at the same time, and she knew that meant she’d be going hungry for a few days.
That’s the moment Geoff points to when he talks about why period poverty became his focus after two decades in nonprofit work. It’s also the moment that gets at something a lot of people miss about this issue. It isn’t happening somewhere else. It’s happening in Ohio, in Minnesota, in Colorado, in communities that look a lot like ours.
Geoff founded Period Kits Ohio in February 2022, not long after moving here to help take care of family. He’d already built Period Kits Colorado from the ground up and still advises Period Kits Minnesota, so he came into this with real experience. What he didn’t have was a community. After twenty-five years of networking, board service, and raising kids in Colorado, he landed in Ohio knowing about four people.
We sat down with Geoff to talk about what he’s built since then, what period poverty actually looks like up close, and where he wants to take this next. Here’s our conversation, in his words.
You’d already founded Period Kits Colorado. What was different about starting one in Ohio, and what did you do differently the second time around?
I had been in Colorado for 25 years, so I raised children, I had been networking at Chambers, had served on Boards of Directors, and I had my community. When I moved to Ohio I maybe knew four people. I had to start fresh and build my community.
“No one should have to choose, period” is a strong line. Can you walk us through what that choice actually looks like for someone in our community?
For someone who is experiencing homelessness, unstably housed, or even extreme poverty, it can literally come down to food or tampons. Folks are then left with some tough decisions, often using items that were in no way intended for menstrual care. Socks, t-shirts, newspapers, and in some cases changing their tampons far less frequently than is recommended.
Tabling at Beauty Boost Dayton
What’s a misconception people have about period poverty that you wish you could correct every time you hear it?
That period poverty is an “over there” issue. Folks often believe it’s an issue in India, or Haiti, or name a foreign country, but have a hard time realizing that it’s Minnesota, or Colorado, or North Carolina having the same issues.
Product drive with Beauty Boost Dayton
Product drive with Caracole HIV Service Organization
What does a partnership with another nonprofit actually look like on the ground? Walk us through how a product gets from a donation to someone who needs it.
We have product drives at businesses, libraries, hospitals, and so on. From there we have public kit-building events at breweries, coffee shops, and businesses. We put approximately one month’s supply of menstrual products into a bag, and then quarterly we have a distribution day where agencies can come get the kits and distribute them however they see fit.
You moved to Ohio to help take care of family, and Period Kits Ohio came out of that. How has that personal chapter shaped the way you lead the organization?
It really hasn’t. I try to lead this organization the same as when I started, with a focus on dignity, empathy, and always trying to remember that no one should have to choose between food and tampons.
What’s a partnership or donor moment that stuck with you, something that reminded you why this work matters?
It’s always the personal connections that remind me the most. An email that reads, “I’m a single mother of two and really struggling to make ends meet right now.” Or, “I’m a nurse with [a local high school] and we have a young lady here who is changing their tampon every other day just so they can attend class. Can you help?”
Product drive and kit build with Joint Womens Collaborative Wyoming
Period Kits Ohio started in February 2022. What does the organization look like now compared to what you pictured back then, and where do you picture it in another three years?
Currently we are a strong but small nonprofit that distributes over 125,000 period products per year. To really grow and have the impact that I would like, we need other locations to get involved. What we’re currently doing is working with other counties to start satellite locations. Period Kits Logan County, if you will. We’re trying to work with people who care and almost say, “You don’t need us, you don’t need Period Kits Ohio, you just need to care and want to help.” Period Kits Ohio then helps them get started in their county, have meetings, share best practices, share what we did, and even more important, here’s what not to do. Learn from our past mistakes.
Removing stigma is part of this mission too, not just access. What’s a way you’ve found to talk about periods with people who are visibly uncomfortable with the subject, without losing them?
I think language is important, so we believe in saying period, periods, menstruation, and some of those other words. Periods have centuries of stigma around them, mainly built by non-menstruators. I believe the only way to overcome that is with consistent and positive language.
You’ve built a board with some really different backgrounds. What do you look for when you bring someone onto this team?
I want someone that understands the issue a little bit but ultimately just wants to help tackle period poverty in their community. People with lived experience, who have been there and made tough decisions, are always a bonus but not a necessity. We have a working board, and we need people who are willing to put in some work and then get things done.
If you could get one item onto every single period kit that isn’t already in there, budget aside, what would it be and why?
Since the beginning, my twin daughters have said chocolate. Lol. Maybe a basic card with some instructions. We don’t know who or what ages our recipients may be, so anything that would help.
For someone reading this who wants to help, what are the various ways they can partner with you?
Have their church, place of business, or Facebook group hold a kit-building event and a product drive. Ask us to speak to a Rotary group, church group, or any other community group. Adopt a nonprofit that needs help and just support them. I have tons of ideas, and anyone can reach me at periodkitsoh@gmail.com.
Kit build at Rhinegeist Brewing
Stories like Geoff’s are exactly why we started the Eastside Business Alliance. Our small businesses and nonprofits aren’t just members of a directory, they’re neighbors doing work that makes this community stronger, one kit, one customer, one conversation at a time. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to grow your business or your cause, come find your people with us. Business Growth. Rooted in Community.