Period dignity on every watch
Client: Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
“Providing period products at work is a simple but important way to support colleagues, improve wellbeing and create a more inclusive workplace.”
- Crew Manager Abi Petch, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
The Challenge: Reaching everyone, not just crews
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service had kept period products on board its fire appliances for a number of years - a practical acknowledgement that periods don't wait for a quiet moment between call-outs. But a year ago, the Service set out to go further. The goal was to make sanitary provisions available not just on appliances, but across fire stations and workplaces throughout Cheshire, so that anyone who needed them could access them - including fire cadets, King's Trust students, visitors and attendees at open days and community events.
Why Hey Girls
When it came to choosing a partner, the Service wanted more than a supplier - it wanted an organisation whose values matched its own commitment to inclusion and wellbeing. Hey Girls stood out for three reasons: its mission to end period poverty, its Buy One, Donate One model that turns every purchase into support for someone experiencing period poverty, and its use of eco-friendly, zero-waste products.
Together, those factors made Hey Girls the clear choice to help Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service extend period dignity beyond its appliances and into every station, workplace and community setting it serves.
Making the partnership happen
The project began at a Women's Staff Network meeting, where Head of Service Improvement Katie Whitehead asked for someone to lead on bringing period products into workplaces. Crew Manager Abi Petch volunteered to take it forward.
From there, Abi researched suppliers, explored how products could be displayed in the Service's dispenser pods, and gathered quotes for comparison. She spoke with Georgie from Hey Girls on numerous occasions - learning about the company itself as well as the different options available for Cheshire's stations and workplaces - before building a case for the Service's leadership.
That case took the form of a presentation setting out why Hey Girls was the right partner, which Abi shared with Katie Whitehead. Hey Girls' products were then brought to a network meeting for review by a neutral panel, with Georgie dialling in to answer questions directly. Once the panel's feedback was in, the practical details - how the programme would run day to day, and who would be responsible for replenishing stock - were worked through internally.
The partnership was signed off by Paul Cook, Head of Facilities and Estates, before going through the Service's finance department for approval. Just over a year after that first conversation at the Women's Network, Hey Girls products launched across Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.
A warm reception, station by station
The initiative has been met with a strongly positive response. Ahead of launch, products were shared with the Women's Network for feedback, with Georgie from Hey Girls joining the meeting to answer questions in person. Since products began landing on stations, Abi has been delivering them in person and hearing the impact first-hand - positive comments from male and female colleagues alike, including women who have shared that there have been times in the past when they needed products and didn't have access to them.
Although the rollout is still in its early days, the response so far reflects exactly what the Service set out to achieve: a simple, practical change that makes people feel supported, included and looked after at work.
The Result
Hey Girls boxes, stocked with period pads and tampons, are now available across Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service workplaces and operational units - free to anyone who needs them. It's a partnership born from one colleague putting her hand up at a network meeting, built through careful research and internal advocacy, and delivered in a way that makes period dignity a standard, visible part of working life at Cheshire Fire - while every purchase helps Hey Girls reach more people experiencing period poverty across the UK.
