GrassROOTS Community Foundation

GrassROOTS Community Foundation We train women and girls to better understand and improve their health and well-being and embolden them to be community change agents. Follow

We develop girl changemakers as well as support public health initiatives for women and girls.

Last Sunday, HerFlow Foundation hosted their Unsung Shero Awards where they honored the Jamaican women who rose to lead ...
04/02/2026

Last Sunday, HerFlow Foundation hosted their Unsung Shero Awards where they honored the Jamaican women who rose to lead post Hurricane Melissa💐💛!!!

On behalf of GCF, our Head of the Global Equity Council, Lisa Maxwell , honored Shelly-Ann "Dr Sexy-Ann" Weeks , one of our close partners, with an award recognizing her investment in girls’ wellness and her dedication to menstrual equity👸🏾🙌🏾💚!!!! We commend her efforts and dedication to the girls and women of Jamaica before AND after Hurricane Melissa 🙌🏾🥹💐!!!!

Thank you for all that you do Shelly-Ann "Dr Sexy-Ann" Weeks 😍🙌🏾💚!!! We love and appreciate you always💚!!!

This past Wednesday, our president👸🏾,  , and our head of Global Equity Council👸🏾,  , visited Central Highschool in Newar...
03/27/2026

This past Wednesday, our president👸🏾, , and our head of Global Equity Council👸🏾, , visited Central Highschool in Newark, New Jersey to further our menstrual equity work. Having these types of conversations with youth are vital because breaking period stigma starts with education; without it, silence and shame continue to persist🩸

In honor of Endometriosis Awareness Month,  hosted a conversation with 200 male students at Jamaica College, creating sp...
03/26/2026

In honor of Endometriosis Awareness Month, hosted a conversation with 200 male students at Jamaica College, creating space to educate them on the female reproductive system and the realities of endometriosis, an illness often dismissed, misunderstood, and diagnosed far too late.

It takes roughly 8 to 10 years for a woman to get diagnosed with this illness, and 1 in 10 women have it.

Work like this is how we break stigma, educate ourselves, and build a generation that listens, understands, and advocates for women’s health👸🏾🤴🏾💚

The Greater Union County Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. invited  to speak to youth about the inherent stigma ...
03/23/2026

The Greater Union County Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. invited to speak to youth about the inherent stigma attached to the female menstrual cycle and how period stigma sets the conditions for why period poverty exists around the globe.

We at GrassROOTS are testing our RED/Ed curriculum in youth spaces like these where we discuss how this stigma creates the conditions for shame and influences decisions about the distribution of female menstrual goods.

The cultural messages about periods suggests that they are shameful and should be hidden, thus explaining why we do not have period products in every public institution and why menstrual products are still considered luxury items.

Swipe to see our president leading discussions with our youth!

Tomorrow, March 21, 2026, at Kean University’s Miron Student Center, Generational Wellness: A Women’s Forum & Family Hea...
03/20/2026

Tomorrow, March 21, 2026, at Kean University’s Miron Student Center, Generational Wellness: A Women’s Forum & Family Health Fair brings together conversations on prenatal care, menopause, and menstrual equity
🤰🏾💚🌳👸🏾! From 10AM to 2PM, come and receive moral support, free on site breast exams, and woman to woman advice on how to navigate womanhood in a way that prioritizes self-care👸🏾👸🏿👸🏽👸🏼👸🏻

See flyer above for the registration QR code on the bottom left!

Coming up this May 31st,  will be hosting their annual Red Run 5k 🏃🏾‍♀️💨 to help raise funds towards ending period pover...
03/19/2026

Coming up this May 31st, will be hosting their annual Red Run 5k 🏃🏾‍♀️💨 to help raise funds towards ending period poverty in Jamaica 👩🏾‍🦱👧🏾👩🏾!!!

Just like last time, our team at HerFlow will provide free menstrual products to girls and women in need while at the race🩸👸🏾!

Check out the pics above to see some content from last year’s run, and we’ll see you there bright and early this year to 🏃🏾‍♀️💨😉🙌🏾

See https://www.cari-flo.com/events/redrun5k26 #/checkout for more details about registration!!!

NJBIC, a conference founded to address issues that are faced by New Jersey’s Black population, will be holding their con...
03/17/2026

NJBIC, a conference founded to address issues that are faced by New Jersey’s Black population, will be holding their convention this year on March 20th. Our president, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias, will be one of the many guest speakers at this event, speaking on our shared mission of fostering community engagement, leadership, and empowerment 💚

Use the QR code in the pic above to register and attend!!!

In the United States, 1 in 5 students faces barriers to accessing period products. This causes many students to be absen...
03/16/2026

In the United States, 1 in 5 students faces barriers to accessing period products. This causes many students to be absent 18–20 days during the school year, ultimately creating a reality deeply tied to stigma and shame.

Both girls and boys need understand that periods are natural. At a recent talk led by the Head of Operations for our Global Equity Council, , Our organization was able to to create a space where students could learn about menstrual equity and period poverty. Special thanks to the North Jersey Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and the Delta Teens of East Orange, NJ for helping in making this possible and for supporting our organization’s menstrual equity mission🙌🏾💚👧🏾👦🏾!!!

Some of the topics discussed during our talk:

Topics :
1. What is Menstrual Equity
2. Understanding Period Poverty
3. How stigma impacts teens (especially in school)
4. The role young men play in breaking stigma and advocacy
5. Policy and advocacy (access to free product in all schools)

Last year, our president, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias, spent an afternoon in a Minneapolis hotel lobby listening to hundreds...
03/12/2026

Last year, our president, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias, spent an afternoon in a Minneapolis hotel lobby listening to hundreds of single mothers share their stories. They spoke about raising young children while working toward building stable futures, in a country that oftentimes leaves them to figure it out on their own.

Single mothers do the work of holding families, and often entire communities, together. Their resilience, care, and leadership deserve to be validated, supported, and celebrated.

“Too often, we talk about “community” as if it were a place or a feeling. But community is indeed a verb. A verb connotes action. A verb means doing.”
-Dr. Janice Johnson Dias

Read the full article on thegrio.com ⭐️


In 2025, this Op-Ed was published in Ghana and written by our president, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias. It reflects on the the...
03/11/2026

In 2025, this Op-Ed was published in Ghana and written by our president, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias. It reflects on the the urgent need to advance menstrual equity.

Last year, GrassROOTS completed a Menstrual Equity White Paper examining the structural and cultural barriers surrounding access to menstrual health. This report explores how stigma, misinformation, and economic inequality intersect to shape girls’ experiences of menstruation. Our Menstrual Equity White Paper provides an evidence-based foundation for ongoing advocacy, program design, and policy engagement. This report outlines our global commitment and work across the
U.S., Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Jamaica 🇺🇸🇬🇭🇿🇦🇰🇪🇯🇲

Read more at https://newscenta.com !



Meet Chantal👩🏾‍🦱💇🏾‍♀️💚Chantal is a 32-year-old hairdresser and a single mother raising four young children, all under th...
03/10/2026

Meet Chantal👩🏾‍🦱💇🏾‍♀️💚

Chantal is a 32-year-old hairdresser and a single mother raising four young children, all under the ages of 1, 3, 6, and 10. For some time, Chantal and her children were all living together in a single room attached to a damaged house.

We were able to help rebuild Chantal’s home so she and her four children no longer had to share that single room. The story of GrassROOTS is the story of community: There are real people behind every dollar.

Chantal is just like Theodore: trying to navigate themselves and their family’s lives post Hurricane Melissa. Both Chantal and Theodore have dreams for their own children, and those children deserve opportunities to thrive. With support from her community, our board members, and the Haberman Foundation, GrassROOTS provided resources to help rebuild Chantal and her family’s home, including a concrete, hurricane-resistant roof to create a safer and stronger place for her family.


Happy International Women’s Day👸🏾! All of our work is for the betterment of young girls and women all over the world🩷🙋🏾‍...
03/08/2026

Happy International Women’s Day👸🏾! All of our work is for the betterment of young girls and women all over the world🩷🙋🏾‍♀️👸🏾!!! Go us🙌🏾!!!

Address

59 Main Street, Ste 323
West Orange, NJ
07052

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 3pm
Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Wednesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 10am - 3pm

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