How We Distribute Essential Hygiene Products
Hope & Comfort is the only organization in Massachusetts solely dedicated to addressing hygiene insecurity. The many requests for hygiene products we receive tell the story of thousands of youth and families without access to the essentials. This has a profound impact on their health and self-esteem. Supplying items like soap and deodorant gives them the confidence to succeed.
Hope & Comfort works with more than 300 youth-serving and community organizations – including college campuses – to provide hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and menstrual products. Our partner distribution organizations listed below help distribute essential hygiene products to the hundreds of thousands of youth and families experiencing hygiene insecurity across the state.
Are you a community organization interested in receiving products from Hope & Comfort? Click here to request items.
Youth-Serving Organizations
Adult and Teen Challenge Massachusetts
All I Can Experience
Association of Black Harvard Women
Atkinson Elementary School PTO
Ayer Regional School
Beacon Academy
Belle of the Ball
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
Berklee College of Music
Billerica Boys & Girls Club
Birthday Wishes
Boston Community Pediatrics
Boston Girls Empowerment Network
Boston Medical Center for Refugee Health & Human Rights
Boston Youth Sanctuary
Boys & Girls Club of Boston- YouthConnect
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell
Boys & Girls Club of Lynn
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston- Charlestown
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston- Chelsea
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South
BPS Another Course to College
BPS Blackstone Elementary School
BPS Boston Arts Academy
BPS Boston Collaborative High School
BPS Boston Community Leadership Academy
BPS Charles Sumner School
BPS Charlestown High School
BPS Chittick School
BPS Conley Elementary School
BPS Ellis Elementary School
BPS Grew Elementary
BPS Guild Elementary
BPS Health and Wellness
BPS Hennigan School
BPS Horace Mann School for the Deaf
BPS James F. Condon School
BPS JFK Elementary School
BPS King School
BPS Manning Elementary
BPS Margarita Muniz Academy
BPS Mattahunt Elementary
BPS McKay School
BPS McKinley School
BPS Mildred Ave K-8
BPS Mozart Elementary
BPS Murphy School
BPS Ohrenberger School
BPS Patrick Kennedy School
BPS Philbrick Elementary School
BPS Up Academy Dorchester
BPS- Curtis Guild Elementary School
BPS- Winthrop Elementary School
Brandeis University Food Pantry
Breaktime
Bridge Boston Charter School
Bridges Homeward
Bridgewater State Univ. Food Bank 4U
Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital
Bright Eyed, Inc.
Bruce School
Bunker Hill Community College Food Pantry
Calcutt School
Cambridge Friends School
Catie’s Closet
Charlestown Coalition
Chelsea Community Connections
Chelsea High School
Cheverus School
Chicopee High School
Christmas in the City
Circle of Hope Needham
City Connects – BPS Tobin Elementary School
City of Boston
City Year
Communities United, Inc. (Head Start)
Cradles to Crayons
Criterion Child Enrichment
Debbie’s Treasure Chest
Drive Boston
Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School
E-Cubed Academy (Providence School Department)
Epiphany School and Early Learning Center
Everett Public Schools
Family Resource Center at Family Service Association
Forestdale School
Foundry Consortium
Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School
Free. Hingham
Friends of the Bradley School
Friends of the Children
Friends of the Hernandez
Harvey Girls
Healthworks Community Fitness
Healthy Chelsea
Healthy Waltham
Higher Ground Boston
Home for Little Wanderers
Horizons for Homeless Children
Humility Church Brockton
Hyde Square Task Force
Immigrant Family Services Institute
Jeanne’s Cupboard at UMASS Dartmouth
Kennedy Middle School
Kittredge Elementary School
Lee Public Schools
Leviton Dual Language (Providence Public Schools)
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
Lynn Family Resource Center
Madison Park Development Corporation
Malden Public Schools
Marblehead Community Charter Public School
Marshall Middle School
Massasoit Community College
MassBay Community College Food Pantry
McMahon School
My Sisters Keeper
Nashoba Regional High School
Neighborhood House Charter School
Neighborhood Villages
North Andover High School
North Andover Public Schools
North High School
NSMHA (North Suffolk Mental Health Association)
Nuestro Mundo Public Charter School
Pathways Strategic Teaching Center
Peabody PREP
Peabody Public Schools – Center Elementary
Peabody Veterans Memorial High School
Project 351
Providence Autism School to Tomorrow Academy
Providence Public Schools
Provision Ministry
Public Schools of Brookline – Heath School
Quabbin Regional School District
Quincy Public Schools
RAW ART Works
Resiliency Preparatory Academy – Fall River Public Schools
Revere Public Schools
Roca
Ron Burton Training Village
Saint Columbkille Partnership School
Salemwood School
Salvation Army
Schools on Wheels
Shooting Touch
Snowden International School
South Boston Neighborhood House
South Shore YMCA
Southbridge High School
Southbridge Middle School
Storytime Crafts
Suffolk University Food Pantry
Sullivan Middle School – Lowell
Taunton Diversity Network Inc
The BASE
The Knights’ Closet at the North Andover Middle School
The Wonderfund
Thomson Elementary School
United South End Settlements
United Way MassBay – Cambridge Family & Children Services
Villa Nova Middle School
Waltham Boys & Girls Club
Waltham Partnership for Youth
Waltham Public Schools
Waverly Oaks/Wayside
Wayside Youth & Family Network
Wily Network
YMCA of Greater Boston
YOU Boston
Young Man with a Plan
Youth Build North Shore
Youth Options Unlimited Boston
YouthBuild Boston
YouthBuild Pace New Bedford
Youthquake
YW Boston
Families & Communities
4 Others Inc
A Place to Turn Pantry
Acton Community Supper
Addiction Referral Center
Alianza Hispana
All Saints Food Pantry
Allston Brighton Community Fridges
Ash Street Park Neighborhood
Barnstable Intermediate School
Bay Cove Human Services
Berea SDA Church
Big Blue Drop In Center
Boston Asian Youth Essential Service
Boston Missionary Baptist Community Center
Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society
Boston-Suffolk County Family Resource Center (a program of The Home for Little Wanderers)
BRACE Framingham
Braintree Holidays/Friends
Brockton Interfaith Community
Brookline Food Pantry
Brookside Community Health Center
CARE Pantry at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Sudbury
Catching Joy
Catholic Charities – Leominster
Catholic Charities – Milford, MA
Catholic Charities – Worcester, MA
Catholic Charities South Worcester County
Catholic Charities South Worcester County
Central MA Agency on Aging
Centre Street Food Pantry
Chapters Recovery Center
Christ Church Cathedral Drop-In Center
Christ The Rock Food Pantry
City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Public Service
Commonwealth Mental Health and Wellness
Community Empowerment Center
Community Empowerment Center- Worcester
Concord Baptist Church
Cueball Capital for Boston Children’s Hospital
Department of Children & Families & Communities
Dimock Center
DotHouse Health Center
Dwelling House of Hope
El Buen Samaritano Food Program, Inc.
Eliot Family Resource Center
Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew
Eta Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
Fall River Deaconness Home
Family Access of Newton
Family Continuity
Family Independence Initiative
Fathers Uplift
Feminist Empowerment Movement (Revere High School)
Firewinds Key To Christian Institute of Hope
First Congregational Church of Sharon Community Food Pantry
Friends of the Rafael Hernandez
Gandara Center
Gander Center Stairway to Recovery
Genesis Lacen Family Liaison
Germantown Center South Shore YMCA
Gifts of Hope Unlimited Sudbury
Ginny’s Helping Hand
Grafton Food Bank
Greater Boston Food Bank
Guardians of the Streets
Harbor Health/Neponset Health Center
Higher Ground International
Homeless Empowerment Project
House of Mercy
Iglesia Jesus El Buen Pastor (Jesus the Good Shepherd Church) Framingham
Interfaith Social Services Quincy
Jeannine’s Joy
Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS)
Jewish Family Services (JFS of Metrowest)
JF&CS Food Pantry
JRIs Housing is Healthcare Program
Justice Resource Institute
Lazarus House
Leaving the Streets Ministry
Lexington Food Pantry
Life Connection Center, Inc.
LifeSource Fellowship (Outreach Ministry)
Liz Murphy Open Hand Food Pantry
Lower Roxbury and Wellness Coalition Initiative
Lynn Community Connections Coalition
Lynn Community Health Center
Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development Group Inc.
Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center
Medway Food Pantry
Merrimack Valley Food Bank
Metrowest Worker Center
Mission Maranatha
Mothers Helping Mothers
Mujeres Unidas Avanzando
Needham Community Council Food Pantry
New Global Harvest Church
New Hope, Inc.
Newton Food Pantry
Northampton Survival Center
Norwood Baptist Church RI
Old Cambridge Baptist Church
On The Rise
Orient Heights Tenant Organization
Pine Street Inn
Plymouth Family Resource Center
Point After Club Lawrence
PowerCorps Boston
Presente en Nuestra communidad
Program RISE
Project Just Because
Quincy Community Action Programs
Recovery Journey Services
Rehoboth Baptist Church Food Pantry
Revival Center
Rosary Group of Catholic Tri-Parishes of Brockton
Rose’s Bounty Pantry
Ruth’s House
Saint Francis House
Schochet Companies
Shaquera Story
SHARE Fund
Shirley Community Health and Outreach
Sociedad Latina
Solutions At Work
Somebody Cares New England
St Mary’s Food Pantry
Stone Soup Café
Supplies for Love
Tenancy Preservation Program
The Brown Bag Project
The Community Builders
The Roxbury Financial Empowerment Center
Tifereth Raphael
Together We Stand Corporation
Tree of Life/Arbol de Vida
Triumph Inc
Tufts Dental Students (St. Francis House Oral Health Workshops)
UMass Dartmouth Housing & ASID
UMASS Harrington Addiction Immediate Care
UnitedWay of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
Volunteers of America Massachusetts
WATCH CDC
Watertown Food Pantry
Wellesley Food Pantry
Women’s Fund SouthCoast
Women’s Refugee Care
Worcester County Food Bank
Worcester Families & Communities Feeding Families & Communities
You Forward Vinfen
HYGIENE DISTRIBUTION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: MENSTRUAL + HYGIENE PRODUCT PILOT PROGRAM
Hope & Comfort is proud lead an innovative, three-year pilot program which distributes comprehensive, personalized menstrual + hygiene product kits to Greater Boston youth in need monthly. This program is generously funded in part by CJP’s The Miriam Fund. Select participating partners include our longtime collaborators at Beacon Academy, Charlestown Coalition, Hyde Square Task Force, Raw Art Works , School on Wheels MA, South Boston Neighborhood House, Waltham Boys & Girls Club, Waltham Partnership for Youth, and YouthConnect. These inspiring partners each provide frontline services to young people in need across Greater Boston, bolstered further by Hope & Comfort’s support through frequent essential product distributions.
Our pilot program addresses the widespread issue of period poverty, which goes hand in hand with overall hygiene insecurity. Did you know that 9 out of 10 participants we surveyed reported having to miss at least a day of school due to insufficient access to pads or tampons? Using a distribution methodology that is responsive to the highly individualized needs of our clients, we not only supply a comprehensive suite of both period and hygiene products on a rolling monthly basis, but also collect data on the prevalence and impact of period poverty. Our interim findings can be viewed in reports covering Pilot Program Report: Year #1, built on further in Tackling Period Poverty and Hygiene Insecurity in Greater Boston: Year #2 and Menstrual & Hygiene Equity for Greater Boston: Year #3.
As we work to build awareness around this often-overlooked issue and increase support for young people experiencing both period poverty and hygiene insecurity, we invite you to do the same by donating menstrual products, supporting Hope & Comfort’s work, and sharing our latest report. Together, we can end hygiene insecurity and advance equity for women, girls, and others who menstruate.
