Soaring Over Stigma by Changing the Conversation on Period Poverty

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Sheona Diwakar. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

At just 13 years old, Sheona Diwakar took action on an issue many adults still hesitate to talk about. She founded Soaring Doves, a nonprofit focused on addressing period poverty—a problem that affects millions globally and often goes unspoken. In the years since, she has transformed that initial spark of passion into a powerful force for change, organizing drives, launching initiatives and mobilizing young people to challenge taboos and provide real solutions. Her work has reached communities across Georgia and beyond, with nearly 70,000 menstrual products redistributed to date.

Sheona’s leadership style is just as impactful as her results. Whether she’s giving a speech to a packed audience or leading a volunteer event, she radiates warmth and determination. She plans logistics, builds community partnerships and leads with empathy, ensuring that everyone she works with feels like a valued part of the mission. Her 3K fundraiser even brought in the largest individual donation of the year for Georgia STOMP, a statewide coalition focused on ending period poverty.

Through Soaring Doves, Sheona has led international workshops, launched a youth ambassador program and engaged schools and civic groups in meaningful dialogue. What began as a local initiative has grown into a youth-led movement advocating for dignity and health equity. Her organization’s reach has extended to communities worldwide, showing just how powerful youth-led activism can be.

Now, Sheona is setting her sights on the future. With college on the horizon, she plans to expand Soaring Doves further, including scaling its impact, building new partnerships and launching sustainability-focused initiatives that promote eco-friendly period practices. The mission remains the same: ensure access to menstrual products while sparking conversation and empowering the next generation of changemakers.

Tell us about your volunteer role.

I’m the founder and president of Soaring Doves, which started as this tiny idea in my bedroom in 2020 and has now grown into an organization that’s reached thousands of people. We’re youth-led, which means everyone involved brings so much energy and creativity to the work, and we focus on fighting period poverty from a few angles, getting products directly into the hands of people who need them, educating communities to break the stigma and pushing for policy changes so access is permanent.

My day-to-day life can look completely different depending on the week. One day I’m coordinating a drive with local businesses, another day I’m on a Zoom call with volunteers in another country and then sometimes I’m literally in my car delivering products myself. Since we started, we’ve distributed well over 10,000 products, built partnerships across the state and launched youth-led chapters internationally. It’s been this wild mix of grassroots action and big-picture dreaming.

Why is this issue so important to you?

Because once you actually see what period poverty looks like in someone’s life, it’s impossible to unsee it. It’s not just, “Oh, I don’t have a pad today.” It’s missing school or work, it’s avoiding social events, it’s feeling embarrassed about something that’s completely normal. It chips away at dignity. And the frustrating part is that it’s fixable. If we can make toilet paper freely available in public bathrooms, we can do the same for menstrual products.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

I’ll never forget this one day when a friend quietly left school because she didn’t have the supplies she needed. No one made a scene, no one talked about it, but it stuck with me. At first, I didn’t know what to do with that feeling, but by 2020 I realized I didn’t need to wait until I was older or had a big budget. I started small, with just a few product drives in my neighborhood and people showed up. Those first few drives snowballed into bigger partnerships, and before I knew it, we were not just running local efforts but connecting with advocates around the world.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I want Soaring Doves to be something that keeps growing even after I’m no longer running it day-to-day. That means building leadership pipelines for other young people, making sure chapters are self-sustaining and moving from “filling the gap” to making sure the gap doesn’t exist in the first place. In the next few years, I see us doubling our impact: more chapters, more product distribution and more legislative wins. The dream is that eventually, no student in our state will ever miss school because they don’t have access to a pad or tampon.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

It’s the small, quiet moments. Like someone telling me they were able to go to school that week because they had the products they needed. Or seeing a volunteer who started out shy take the lead on their own drive. Those moments make me realize this isn’t just about handing out pads; it’s about creating ripples of confidence and empowerment in people’s lives.

What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?

That big change usually comes from a lot of small, consistent actions. It’s not always flashy, but it adds up. I’ve also learned that relationships are everything—whether it’s with the people you’re serving, community partners or policymakers. And honestly, patience. Policy change moves slowly, but community change can happen right now, and both matter.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

Because every movement needs more than one voice. You might think you’re “just one person,” but your skills, your time, your connections… those could be exactly what an organization needs to reach the next level. And it’s not just about giving back; it’s also about what it gives you. Being part of something bigger changes the way you see the world.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Don’t overthink it. Just start. Even if it’s just one hour a month, or one small task, it matters because it would make an impact on the community around you. Ask an organization how you can help, and don’t be afraid to do the behind-the-scenes work. If you want to start your own thing, don’t wait for it to be perfect. My first drive was nowhere near polished, but it taught me everything I needed to know for the next one. Momentum comes from movement, not from waiting for the “right time.”

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Sheona? Find local volunteer opportunities.