Our Board
Meet our dedicated Board of Directors who govern the charity and ensure we stay true to our mission and our community.
Our Story
From a grassroots beginning to a national charity
In 2015, Share the Dignity was founded after identifying a genuine need to provide vulnerable women in our community with essential period products. Women who were homeless or in shelters were forced to manage their periods with paper towels in public toilets, often having to choose between food and period products. This is not, and should never be, okay.
From that grassroots local initiative, Share the Dignity has grown into a national charity that has struck a genuine chord with the Australian public.
Working with 3,000+ volunteers, the charity has delivered 5.9 million+ packets of period products and over 1.1 million+ essential-filled handbags to Australian women, girls and those who menstruate.
Who We Are
Our mission, vision and values
Our Mission
Ensuring that everyone is afforded the dignity in life that so many of us take for granted.
Our Vision
Dignity for all through ending period poverty, leadership in education and advocacy, and dignity for people facing adversity.
Our Values
We’re guided by gratitude, integrity, passion, and innovation to end period poverty with dignity and care.
At Share the Dignity, we believe access to period products should be as normal and accessible as toilet paper. That’s why we’ve set a new goal: menstrual equity in Australia by 2031.
For us, menstrual equity means a future where no one misses school, work, sport or everyday life because of their period. It means access to period products when and where they’re needed, better education, and open conversations free from stigma and shame.
We know this won’t happen overnight. Real change takes advocacy, evidence, collaboration and people willing to keep showing up.
Through research, education, partnerships and practical solutions, we’re working to create lasting change so that dignity is never out of reach.
Ensuring everyone is afforded the dignity in life that so many of us take for granted.
Share the Dignity works to make a real difference to the lives of women, girls and
those who menstruate who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, domestic
violence or poverty. When someone is doing it tough, the last thing on their mind should be dealing with their period.
Walking together
Acknowledgement of Country
Share the Dignity acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of this land. We pay respect to Elders past, present and future.
We acknowledge the lands, waterways and cultures of the Turrbal and Jagerra nations, where our Head Office at Virginia is located, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal peoples.
Reconciliation
Share the Dignity is committed to providing inclusive and appropriate support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their kin and community.
Our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) was officially endorsed by Reconciliation Australia in March 2022. A RAP turns good intentions into real actions, creating meaningful relationships, enhanced respect and sustainable opportunities for First Nations peoples.
Artwork by West Australian artist Deborah Newenham-Coertse (Woods).
Governance
The people behind
the movement
Good governance means every dollar raised is used to carry out our
mission. Meet the people who make that happen.
Our Founder
Rochelle Courtenay founded Share the Dignity in 2015 after one community collection became a national movement. Read her full story here.
Our Volunteers
3,000+ Sheroes and Heroes across Australia are the true face of Share the Dignity. Learn about the people who make it all possible.
Our Board
Meet our dedicated Board of Directors who govern the charity and ensure we stay true to our mission and our community.
Our Founder
Rochelle Courtenay founded Share the Dignity in 2015 after one community collection became a national movement. Read her full story here.
Our Volunteers
3,000+ Sheroes and Heroes across Australia are the true face of Share the Dignity. Learn about the people who make it all possible.
Our Patron
A distinguished ally
Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, Governor of Queensland, is Share the Dignity’s first official Patron. As Patron, Her Excellency will be invited to significant events and we look forward to building this relationship over the coming years.
She is the 27th Governor of Queensland, sworn in on 1 November 2021.
