While environmental conservation often manifests in efforts like increasing renewable energy, promoting water efficiency, and reducing agricultural impact, Madeline Sokoloski, a senior majoring in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, considers equitable access to period products and menstrual health education equally important in global efforts to minimize negative impacts to the environment.

Sokoloski’s passion for environmental sustainability led to her involvement in a Penn State chapter of Days for Girls International, a global service organization that advances menstrual equity, health, and dignity for people in developing countries by producing and distributing reusable period kits and advocating for health education. These reusable kits include waterproof panty shields, menstrual liners, soap, a washcloth, and a drawstring bag for washing, all specifically designed to help those in developing countries manage their period.

“While my interest in Day for Girls originally started with my passion for sustainability and working to replace disposable pads and tampons with reusable products, as I learned more, it became about menstrual equity and access to products,” Sokoloski said. “There are so many people who don’t have access to these basic products, which are really as important as a toothbrush. Providing access to products and educating people in an effort to destigmatize menstrual health is the ultimate goal.”

During her sophomore year, when Days for Girls at Penn State was officially recognized as a student organization, Sokoloski served as the vice president and operations chair. In her role, she helped set up an in-person space with sewing machines so members could help produce the drawstring bags used in the kits. She also developed a partnership with a Days for Girls chapter in Philadelphia, which receives the bags the Penn State Chapter sews and adds the final hand-made products to send to communities in developing countries.