On Nov.11, over 300 ISSA Show North America attendees volunteered at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center to assemble 500 personal-care bags for women and girls in need across the Las Vegas area. The now-annual ISSA End Period Poverty Service Project marked its third year with its biggest impact yet.

“These 500 bags symbolize the 500 million people worldwide facing period poverty—those without reliable access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, or proper waste management,” said John Nothdurft, ISSA Director of Government Affairs. “Here in Nevada, one in seven women and girls ages 12 to 44 lives below the Federal Poverty Level. The need is real, and the cleaning and facility solutions industry continues to step up.”

This year, ISSA partnered once again with Purse Power, a Las Vegas nonprofit dedicated to supplying hygiene essentials to those who need them most.

“Purse Power has been honored for the past three years to partner with ISSA in our shared mission to end period poverty,” said Shelly Elmer, Purse Power executive director. “We appreciate ISSA’s leadership and partnership as we work to make a lasting impact. Together, we’re building a brighter, more equitable, and dignified future for our community and our world.”

Purse Power will distribute the personal-care bags to the following local organizations:

• Betty’s Village is a unique and inclusive residential community for adults with disabilities.
• Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada provide refugees from all over the world with resources to become self-sufficient and lead independent lives upon arriving in the U.S.
• Community In Schools of Nevada works to address students’ basic health and social-emotional and academic needs, empowering them to stay on track for a successful future.
• The Lighthouse of Restoration Organization makes an impact on the lives of low-income, single mothers and grandparents who are raising children.
• Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth provides Southern Nevada’s homeless youth with help, hope, and the support needed to rebuild their lives.
• SAFE House provides shelter, counseling, personal and legal advocacy, and community outreach to abused women and children.
• The Shade Tree provides safe shelter to homeless and abused women and children in crisis.

The 2025 ISSA service project was made possible through support from Hospeco Brands Group and product donations from:

• Hospeco Brands Group
• Aunt Flow
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Dial Professional
• Imperial Dade
• joni
• MaskIT
• Purse Power
• Tork, an Essity Brand

“Thank you to our sponsors and every participant who made this year’s service project a standout moment of the ISSA Show,” said Stacy Seiden, ISSA Senior Government Affairs Manager. “Together, we’re making a meaningful difference in the fight to end period poverty.”

For more information about ISSA’s End Period Poverty Service Project and the association’s broader campaign to End Period Poverty, contact Stacy Seiden.

World Toilet Day is held every year on Nov. 19 as the United Nations’ (UN) way to raise awareness of the 3.4 billion people living without access to safe toilets. World Toilet Day is about accelerating action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

This year’s theme, “We’ll Always Need the Toilet,” calls for action to protect and expand access to sanitation in the face of mounting challenges: ageing infrastructure, rising demand, low investment, and the impact of climate change. Inadequate sanitation lets human waste and wastewater contaminate the environment, especially in densely populated areas. Children are particularly vulnerable to diseases, such as cholera, which are spread by exposure to untreated waste.

Unsafe or absent sanitation endangers people and perpetuates inequalities. Without access to clean, functional, lockable, gender-segregated toilets, women, girls, older people, and people with disabilities cannot fully participate in public spaces, workplaces and education. Additionally, lack of safe, private toilets and washing facilities in schools contribute to many girls regularly missing school days, particularly during menstruation.

Poorly managed wastewater and sanitation systems are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane and nitrous oxide, contributing to the effects of the climate crisis, such as accelerating glacial loss. Sanitation services also must be resilient to climate-related disasters. For example, they must be able to withstand and be sustained during and after these events or recover quickly to protect public health.

Safely managed sanitation, including carefully reusing treated wastewater as a source of water, nutrients, and energy, is critical to reducing emissions, protecting ecosystems, and building a circular economy. The UN believes local and national authorities should allocate and increase sustained funding to sanitation and include it in plans for emergency response and climate mitigation and adaptation. Governments also have a duty to protect sanitation workers by ensuring legal protection, safe working environments, and fair wages. Employers should provide training, safety equipment, and access to healthcare.

For more information on World Toilet Day, click here.