Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health donates $500,000 to Moon Time Connections

Press Release

May 28, 2024

BRAMPTON, ON, May 28, 2024 – Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health (SFWH) – the charitable arm of Shoppers Drug Mart® – has committed an additional $500,000 to extend its partnership with Moon Time Connections (MTC), Canada’s only national Indigenous-led period equity organization. Delivered over two years, this funding will accelerate MTC’s programming and ability to support menstruators across Turtle Island with vital menstrual education and access to much-needed period products.

“We’re incredibly grateful to both Shoppers Drug Mart® and Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health for allocating additional funding to ensure we can continue reaching remote and northern Indigenous menstruators with much-needed support,” said Nicole White, founder of Moon Time Connections. “This funding will allow MTC to continue offering our new Moon Time Facilitator training program, which Indigenizes menstrual education and empowers Community with vital and culturally relevant resources, while also supporting us with product distribution.”

Since the start of 2024, Moon Time Connections has already received over 90 new requests for period products from Community across the country; nearly half of the total number of requests that the organization received in 2022 and 2023 combined. MTC has already formed deep relationships with and supports more than 160 Indigenous Communities in all three territories and seven provinces across the country.

“While one in five menstruators in Canada struggle to afford essential menstrual products¹, there is a massive and growing need for support in remote Indigenous communities where recent research conducted by Moon Time Connections uncovered that a staggering 74 per cent of menstruators sometimes or always face issues accessing period products² [i],” ¹ said Paulette Minard, Director of Community Investment at Shoppers Drug Mart®. “Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health is committed to making a difference in the advancement of menstrual equity across Canada by supporting the incredible work being done by our partners at Moon Time Connections.”

Since 2022, Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health has donated nearly $1.3M in funds and supplies [SK(2] [SK(3] [SK(4] to increase access to menstrual products and care for all women and gender diverse people across Canada through partnerships with Moon Time Connections as well as organizations such as The Period Purse, The Journey Neighbourhood Centre Brampton, Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, BC Society of Transition Houses, Spruce Grove Public Library and more. In addition to the work of its charitable arm to further menstrual education and product accessibility, Shoppers Drug Mart® donated 14 million period care products in 2023 to schools in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan so menstruators can access necessary care while continuing to attend class. Additionally, Shoppers’ donations are received by shelters providing accessible period care products to some of Canada’s most vulnerable women.

To learn more about the work of Shoppers Foundation for Women’s HealthTM, please visit: ShoppersFoundation.ca.

To learn more about Moon Time Connections, please visit: TrueNorthAid.ca.

For media inquiries, please contact: pr@loblaw.ca or mtcmedia@truenorthaid.ca.

IHT6