Making strides through policy
action & advocacy timeline
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We began through the Robert E. Bryan Fellowship, a service award provided by Carolina which encourages student groups to pursue passion projects that serve the greater needs of university students.
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We applied for $40,000 in support from the Student Security & Safety Committee (SSSC), allowing us to continue expanding our efforts until more sustainable funding pulled through.
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In partnership with the Reproductive Health Taskforce, FlowForward held a rally calling for free menstrual products at Carolina on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025. Our demand: UNC Chapel Hill should fund, manage, and stock all women’s and single-stall bathrooms on campus with free menstrual products that are sustainable and accessible.
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In order to apply for sustainable funding, FlowForward joined student government as the Menstrual Health Access Commission (MHAC). This nationalization allowed us to get our proposal on the ballot for the reappropriation of $1 per student to go toward our initiative every year.
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After becoming the MHAC, we passed a bill through the undergraduate and graduate student government senates allowing us to propose a $1 per student reappropriation from student fees to fund our work. In February 2026, 85% of the student body voted “yes” for this funding change, and we will now receive $20,000 annually every academic year going forward.
Partnerships
Professors Esther Campi and Lois Boynton
Our biggest supporters - Professor Campi and Professor Boynton - have been champions of menstrual equity long before FlowForward began. Buying menstrual products out of their own pockets and putting them for free in the Hussman School of Journalism, they have been doing this work for years without recognition or support.
Joe Singer & Jason Womback
Esther Campi, UNC Professor of the Practice
Student union
We started our first pilot program for wall-mounted dispensers in the Student Union. We installed 3 Aunt Flow dispensers which contain sustainable and accessible pads and tampons. Through this program, we have dispensed over 5,000 products - in addition to our acrylic bin system.
Suchi Mohanty
Alongside Suchi Mohanty and other leaders of the UNC Library System, we are collaborating to restock 7 new wall-mounted dispensers across the Health Sciences Library, Undergraduate Library, and Davis Library. This includes multiple single-stall, gender neutral bathrooms in each building.
UNC Student Body President
Adolfo Alvarez
The Student Body President, Adolfo Alvarez, has partnered with FlowForward to develop the Reproductive Health Taskforce in the Executive Branch of UNC Student Government. We held a Period Action Day Rally to call upon the University to fund and support menstrual equity at Carolina.
UNC Professors
Dr. Lois Boynton, Associate Professor
UNC Libraries
What’s Next?
With the new $1/student appropriation, we are working on expanding our reach across campus. Not only are we working with UNC Libraries to install new dispensers in Spring 2026, but we are also looking to transition our restocking network to UNC Housekeeping.
