Country of Residence
United States
Age
15
Project title
Rising Red
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
International organization defying societal expectations by redefining women's cycles as a source of strength. The only organization centered on workshops entirely on uncovering the social and emotional power of each phase, from menstruation to menopause.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
risingred.org & @rising.red
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Scaling (We’re expanding impact to new locations or in new and innovative ways)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I didn't start Rising Red with a business plan. I started it with a question nobody around me was asking: what if the menstrual cycle isn't something to hide or endure, but a source of strength? So I went down a research rabbit hole. I spent countless hours digging into every phase of the cycle, from menstruation to the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase, and what each one means for how we feel, connect, and lead. What I found was a gap: everyone teaches symptoms and medicine, but no one teaches only the social and emotional strengths of every phase. My "Aha!" moment was realizing that gap wasn't a sign the idea was too strange. It was proof someone needed to build it. I built our workshop curriculum from that research, and with no network, no funding, and no one who had done it before, I cold-called organizations until one said yes. Since then, I've watched a teen go from seeing her period as a weakness to seeing it as a strength, and a woman in menopause thank us after years of searching for answers alone. Today, Rising Red is a youth-led, grassroots organization with 15+ workshops, 200+ people reached, and 13 partner sites. We're not a medical organization. We're the only one teaching the strength in every phase, and it started with one question and one phone call.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Most of us grow up learning only what the menstrual cycle costs us: pain, mood swings, embarrassment, something to hide. Health class covers the biology and doctors cover symptoms, but almost no one teaches the social and emotional strengths each phase can bring, from the energy to connect and create to the space to reflect and reset. That gap has real consequences. Teens learn to see their periods as a weakness before they've had the chance to see them any other way. Women reach menopause with no framework for what's changing, and some spend years searching for answers alone. The cycle shapes how we feel, connect, and lead from a first period through menopause, yet that story is almost never told. It matters to me because shame thrives in silence. When young people believe their bodies are working against them, it chips away at their confidence, their friendships, and how they show up in their communities. Rising Red exists to change that. We're a youth-led, grassroots organization, not a medical one, and our workshops teach the strengths of every phase. We aren't treating a condition. We're changing how a generation thinks about its own body.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Rising Red delivers one-hour workshops that teach the social and emotional strengths of every phase of the cycle: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. Our curriculum comes from extensive research, and no one else makes these strengths the entire focus. Our workshops are interactive and participant-led, so attendees talk more than we do. For each phase, participants do hands-on activities that get them reflecting on their own lives: how that phase shows up for them, and how they can use its strengths, whether that's confidence, connection, creativity, or rest. By the end, they've worked through every phase and leave with a new way to see their cycle: as something that works for them, not against them. We run workshops for teens and for women in menopause, hosted at partner organizations we built by cold-calling. Behind the workshops is a youth executive team: a CFO, COO, and CMO, each leading their own sub-teams. Fundraising keeps our workshops funded, outreach brings in new partner organizations and communities, social media spreads our message, and ambassadors represent Rising Red in their own communities. Young people run every part of it, from the curriculum to outreach, which keeps us grassroots instead of top-down and gives each team member real leadership experience.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
In one year, Rising Red has reached 200+ people through 15+ workshops across 13 partner organization sites, all built from scratch through cold-calling, with no existing network. What started as one question has grown into an international, youth-led organization. The numbers matter, but the moments matter more. A teen participant told us she now sees her period as a strength instead of a weakness, a shift that can change how a young person carries herself for years. A woman in menopause thanked us after years of independent research and doctor visits had left her without answers. She didn't need a diagnosis. She needed a new way to see what her body was doing, and our workshop gave her one. These reactions show us the idea works. When people get space to reflect on every phase of their cycle, they start to see strengths where they were taught to see burdens. Every workshop we run shifts how another person thinks about her body, and each of those people carries that shift into her family, school, and community.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Most programs about the menstrual cycle start with a problem: pain, symptoms, hygiene, or health risks. They're valuable, but they leave out half the story. Rising Red starts somewhere else. We teach only the social and emotional strengths of every phase of the cycle, and as far as we know, no one else makes that their entire focus. That reframe is our innovation. Instead of asking "how do we manage your cycle?", we ask "how can you use it?" Participants learn what menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase can mean for confidence, connection, creativity, and rest, then reflect on how those strengths show up in their own lives. We're intentionally not a health or medical organization. That's what lets us fill a gap instead of repeating what's already out there. How we teach it is different too. Our workshops are interactive and participant-led, so attendees talk more than we do. And we don't stop at teens. We bring the same strengths-based framework to women in menopause, treating the cycle as a lifelong journey rather than a single stage. We also work alongside cycle-tracking apps like Drop It Cycle App and Balance Her. They help people track their cycles, and we help people understand the strengths behind them. We see them as collaborators, not competitors. Finally, Rising Red itself is a new model: a youth-led, grassroots organization built from scratch through cold-calling, run by a student executive team, not handed down from an institution.
How many people are on your team?
12
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I'm the CEO of a 12-person, youth-led team. Our executive team, a CFO, COO, and CMO, each runs their own sub-team across fundraising, outreach, social media, and ambassadorship, with ambassadors representing Rising Red in their own communities. I set the vision and curriculum, but each leader owns their area and builds their own team, so leadership is shared, not top-down, and more young people gain real leadership experience.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, our goal is to take Rising Red from a grassroots startup to an international presence, with two priorities. First, we're taking in-person workshops beyond Orange County. Our workshops work best face to face, where participants can reflect and talk, so we're building a travel budget to bring them to new communities and new countries. We'll keep growing our partner organization network the way we started it, one conversation at a time, so each new site brings our strengths-based curriculum to people who've never had it. Second, we're building the foundation to last: more materials for workshops, stronger marketing so more people find us, and the legal and operational basics that let us grow responsibly. Whether we reach 200 people or 2,000, the goal is the same: a generation that sees the strengths in every phase of the cycl
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Rising Red grows the way it started: through direct, personal conversations. I text people, share our mission, and let them decide if it resonates. No ad budget, no big launch, just real messages to real people. From there, our social media does the rest. People who connect with our message find us online, see what we stand for, and reach out to join. So far, 12 people are on our team, and every one of them chose to be there. They run fundraising, outreach, and social media, and our ambassadors represent Rising Red in their own communities, bringing our message to people we'd never reach alone. Beyond the team, 13 partner organizations have opened their doors to our workshops, and 200+ participants have joined us in reflecting on the strengths in their cycles. We also teach people to start the conversation themselves. Our workshops get participants talking openly about something most were taught to keep quiet, and they carry that conversation home to friends, family, and school. Going forward, we plan to keep growing through social media and our ambassadors, so more young people can lead the conversation in their own communities.
