Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Maanya Pandey. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Growing up, Maanya Pandey would hear her mother’s stories about how inaccessible and expensive period products were in her native India. But when Maanya discovered that women in America were facing significant obstacles to finding adequate period products, she knew she could take action to make a change.
After doing significant research, Maanya learned that from prisons to her local community, women were struggling to find period products. This was especially true in Maanya’s area of Iowa, where few organizations addressed period poverty. As a high school sophomore, Maanya decided to start her own organization to help women feel clean and maintain dignity during their periods. In May 2020, she founded Love for Red, an organization working to end period poverty through service, advocacy, and awareness.
With a focus on schools, Maanya has volunteered thousands of hours leading a student‑run effort that has donated about 362,000 menstrual products to 207 organizations, including 170 schools in 78 districts. The organization works to move products into school bathrooms, create “period packs,” and establish student ambassador teams that ensure their classmates’ supplies are stocked without asking an adult or going home. With a strong focus on partnering with shelters, clinics, and refugee groups, Maanya has served as a face of the mission, representing the group to support bills that would fund free products in school restrooms.
Maanya just graduated from the University of Iowa and is planning on attending medical school. She hopes to incorporate Love for Red into her medical career, addressing women’s health while advocating for health equity. By dedicating her volunteer work to a cause that’s close to her heart, Maanya has already forged a path that will lead to her future as a physician. Her dedication to the cause shows just how much volunteerism can change the future and, in this powerful example, inform one’s professional career.
LOVE FOR RED FOUNDER MAANYA PANDEY (RIGHT) PRESENTS ‘LET’S TALK PERIOD POVERTY’ TO CIVIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY STUDENTS WITH REP. DAVID YOUNG. /COURTESY MAANYA PANDEY
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
When I was growing up, women in my life would tell me about their experiences with menstruation when they were young, and that was so different from my experience. My mom grew up in India, and she wasn’t devoid of resources. But at the time, period products like the ones that we know today weren’t on the market. And if they were, they were so expensive and inaccessible. She would tell me about the negative experiences that she had with menstruation, and that was so different from what I experienced. When I got my first period, I was so excited to be a woman. In my sophomore year of high school, I saw an Instagram post about women in prisons and the struggles that they go through because they can’t access period products. They were using things like bed sheets and mattresses as period products and subjecting themselves to assault by prison staff to get period products. That’s where I really saw that this issue was in the U.S. and not just another country.
What inspires you to volunteer?
So many people are suffering in silence. I think that truly was my motivation. It felt so fulfilling to be able to address something that wasn’t being talked about in general. That’s why I continue what we’re doing, because when we started, we didn’t think that there would be much of a need. Once we got to schools, it completely skyrocketed, and we now support over 200 schools in Iowa. Being able to uncover need and directly help those in need is honestly so fulfilling, and that’s why I continue.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Love for Red.
My title is Founder and President, and so it’s my mom and me who do almost everything for the organization. We have a board of advisors and other things, but my role is overseeing the organization. I help with gathering the donations, going to schools, and dropping them off. We plan period packing events. For the past four years, I was at the University of Iowa for my undergrad, and so I ran our Iowa City team. We have our newsletter, our social media posts, events, and fundraisers. I run all of our meetings, and we actually have a student ambassador program that creates a leadership opportunity for students to take care of their school’s menstrual product needs.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
One of our really big strategies is advocacy. It’s something that we started in 2023, when we went to the Iowa State Legislature to advocate for policy change for free menstrual products. Our legislative goals for the past few years have been getting free period products for students in Iowa and making them free in all Iowa schools. I would say that one of our goals is to be able to get something passed. We got really, really close. It’s something where we’ve gained so much traction and progress in the past few years, specifically for students. That’s something that I really want us to be able to get passed.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
We send a feedback form out towards the end of the year to see if these products are helping people and making a difference. That’s when it’s so eye-opening to see staff and students talk about their experience with having these products accessible to them. They’re talking about how, otherwise, they were spending their own money for these products or missing school.
Students are so grateful to have these products accessible to them. It just feels like we’re truly actually making a difference for Iowans.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
One of the biggest things is just how much I’ve changed as a person over the past six years because of Love for Red. A lot of people are shocked when they hear me say that I’m like an introvert. I’m scared to talk to people on the phone. But with Love for Red, it’s truly changed me as a person. It’s changed my confidence, my skills, and my outlook on the things that I want to do. I’m applying for medical school right now.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
We all see issues that happen in our world, and we all have the desire for them to be solved. But they’re not going to be solved unless we do something about it. I know it can be really scary for people to take that initiative. When we started, we had no idea that it would grow this much. But we started because I wanted to do something about this, and then we uncovered more of the need that we saw in Iowa. Because of that, we were able to create such an impact. It’s really important to take that first step in addressing things that you want to see solved because one person can truly make a difference.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Research organizations that do exist for the issues you do want to solve. Some organizations always need help, and just email them, reach out to them, or look on their website. There are so many places that need help, and we just have to reach out and ask what it is. If you have a cause that you want to help, there are so many more people out there that want to do the same. If you start it, other people will join you as well.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Ava Zhang. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Ava Zhang used to cut her dolls’ hair as a child. Over a decade later, she’s leading an organization that helps those who are struggling to find confidence and strength, through haircuts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, salons and barbershops were closed for safety regulations. Ava had already developed a hobby of cutting hair for family and friends and found plenty of people eager for a fresh haircut while everything was closed. But she also wanted to take her skills and combine them with her passion for helping others through volunteerism. She started giving haircuts in the parking lot of her local grocery store for strangers, and discovered that the relationship formed with a client in her chair was one of tremendous confidence. But when Ava reached out to shelters and asked if she could provide haircuts to their clients, she was informed that she needed a cosmetology license to cut hair.
Instead of feeling defeated, Ava went on to enroll in cosmetology school. She trained for as many as 1,500 hours and passed two state board exams to get her cosmetology license. Now, she spearheads Cuts for a Cause, a youth-led nonprofit providing free, professional hair-cutting and styling services to marginalized communities. Ava is responsible for coordinating with shelter partners, recruiting and managing volunteers, planning service events, and providing the haircuts. But she has also expanded the organization’s scope, hosting self-care health education workshops for over 800 individuals. By providing personal care and beauty services for underserved communities, Ava is giving each client the respect and dignity they deserve.
Now a rising high school senior, Ava is looking toward the future. When she heads to college, she would like to expand the organization beyond her own involvement. While she has a supportive team of volunteers, she’s still the only one providing haircuts and is hoping to find another young person with the proper qualifications to cut hair. Ava may be the youngest licensed barber in Virginia, but she’s also a volunteer powerhouse. She dedicates 45 hours per month to her work with Cuts for a Cause and has no intention of slowing down. With every snip of her scissors, Ava is giving her time to build someone’s confidence. Her willingness to combine her talents with a passion for helping others is an incredible example of the power of volunteerism.
AVA ZHANG (SECOND FROM RIGHT) STANDS WITH FELLOW VOLUNTEERS AT A CUTS FOR A CAUSE BAKE SALE FUNDRAISING OUTSIDE HER LOCAL GROCERY STORE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CUTS FOR A CAUSE. /COURTESY AVA ZHANG
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
Haircutting has always been one of my favorite hobbies. When I was a little kid, I would cut the hair on my dolls, and I began cutting hair for my family and neighbors. During COVID, a lot of salons were closed, so I wanted to practice my haircutting skills more. I went to Giant, the grocery store, and provided haircuts for people. One man came up to me, and when he sat down in the chair and I gave him his haircut, we talked about his life. He didn’t just thank me for the haircut, but he thanked me for the time that I took to really listen to him.
That’s when I noticed how much a haircut can really mean. It’s not just the haircut that improves someone’s confidence, but the time it takes to build that trust and relationship in the chair. That made me want to start cutting hair for people who don’t have that access and could really benefit from being listened to. I began reaching out to local shelters in Northern Virginia, and now we have around five partnerships.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Cuts for a Cause.
I have a team with a Fundraising Director, an Outreach Director, and a Secretary, and I’ll assign them certain tasks, whether it’s reaching out to more shelters or reaching out to restaurants or other places we can partner with for fundraisers. I also coordinate with student volunteers who can help out at the haircutting events. I do the designing for Instagram posts, but I generally oversee what my team does.
What inspires you to volunteer?
Volunteering to me is such an amazing thing because I’m not just doing what I love, but I’m also helping the community and restoring dignity and confidence to these people who cannot access services like health education and grooming.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
The most rewarding part is that haircuts allowed me to sit down with someone and hear about their lives and their experiences. Some people are excited to tell me what haircut they want, or just want someone to listen to them. I love working with children too because they’re always very excited and talkative, and seeing someone look at them afterward, smile, and see that confidence is really rewarding. It’s really more than just changing someone’s appearance.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
Helping someone starts with listening to them instead of just assuming what they need. Every person who sits in my chair has different experiences and ways of communicating, and I’ve definitely learned how to adapt. Whether that means communicating with someone who doesn’t speak much English or working with a nervous child, I’ve learned a lot about leadership because running an organization means communicating with shelters, coordinating with volunteers, and figuring out what to do if things don’t go as planned.
AVA ZHANG WEARS A BLACK APRON AS SHE PROVIDES A FREE HAIRCUT AT THE FAUQUIER FAMILY SHELTER THROUGH CUTS FOR A CAUSE. /COURTESY AVA ZHANG ● [Good Shep]: AVA ZHANG (LEFT) PRESENTS AT THE PODIUM DURING A SELF-CARE WORKSHOP FOR RESIDENTS AT GOOD SHEPHERD HOUSING. /COURTESY AVA ZHANG
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Getting involved with something you genuinely care about makes volunteering feel much less like an obligation or a job, and more like being who you are. I loved cosmetology before starting Cuts for a Cause, but volunteering showed me that a personal interest could also meet a need in a community and serve other people. You don’t need to start a nonprofit or have a service-oriented skill to make an impact. When people find what they care about and what their community needs, service becomes much more personal and sustainable.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Find something you love and start with something you know how to do. Don’t wait until you feel completely prepared, because when you’re a young person and you have a passion, you really need to get out there. You can’t keep waiting. When I started, I didn’t have a large organization or hundreds of volunteers. I just had a skill that I knew could help someone. To this day, it’s still just me doing the haircutting.
Check out organizations in your community and ask what they actually need. Be willing to start small, because your first effort doesn’t have to impact a bunch of people to really make an impact. One meaningful interaction can show where you can go next, and as you gain more experience, listen to people you serve and let what you learn from them shape how you continue helping.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Doing what you love and helping other people can make such a bigger impact than you think. My organization isn’t expanded throughout the country or the world, but these one-on-one interactions with the people are much deeper than giving a simple haircut, because you’re building trust and community. I want people to learn that you don’t have to be a huge organization to feel like you did something.
