November Volunteer of the Month: Varsha Nallabirudu
An interview with Varsha Nallabirudu, Iowa City Operations Lead of Love For Red
December 1, 2023 // By Emma Gaughan
Varsha Nallabirudu is a third-year University of Iowa student, and the Iowa City Lead of Love For Red. She joined Love For Red as a second-year after following the organization on Instagram.
“I didn’t realize how big of a problem it was. I guess it was just surprising,” Varsha said.
Varsha attended various events hosted by Love For Red, such as period packing events. After volunteering for a while, she decided that she wanted to get more involved in the organization, especially as operations expanded to Iowa City.
“Especially in Iowa City, I feel like it’s such a great place— there’s so many different types of student organizations that help. It’s very common to see social justice or volunteering, there’s so many cool opportunities for that,” Varsha said. “It just kind of happened in an organic way.”
Varsha also likes the environment of Love For Red. Weekly meetings are a comfortable and welcoming space, and she shared that it’s a safe space for everyone to just exist.
As the organization grew in Iowa City and Varsha became more involved, she realized how much she liked helping out. She was able to really feel how much of a difference that she was making.
“I really liked that feeling, and then I started learning more about period poverty and how it affects people here,” Varsha said. “Going to the events, people would tell stories of people they know struggling. The more you hear that, then you realize, ‘Oh, wow, we’re making a big impact. People are actually struggling with this.’”
Hearing people’s stories and being able to see the impact Love For Red has had on people inspired Varsha to continue to work in the organization. The conversation became focused on spreading the influence of Love For Red, and continuing to grow the organization. The organization operates in multiple cities, but mainly operates in Des Moines.
Varsha feels that Love For Red is particularly special because of how inclusive it is. Love For Red is for everyone, and they make sure to let people know that.
“It’s not just women and girls, those aren’t the only people who are affected by this,” Varsha said.
Varsha added that while serving women’s shelters is very important, Love For Red serves lower and higher income areas, because period poverty is a struggle that many people have, regardless of where they are in life.
“You really don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives— you shouldn’t assume or judge,” Varsha said. “I think that was very much like aligning with my values.”
While Varsha has not been able to help out in Des Moines operations as much, since they focus on donating to schools and she spends most of her time in Iowa City, she shared that helping out at events and booths has been gratifying.
“We had two booths recently where we were actually giving out products to people who would need it. It was really cool. It was nice to give them what they needed,” Varsha said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, can I take multiple of these?’ and I was like, ‘Take as many as you want!’ It felt really good to be able to give them something that they really needed, and take that worry off their plate.”
Varsha is hoping that Love For Red can continue to spread awareness, as well as expand the Iowa City operations moving forward. She is looking forward to connecting with more schools in the area, as well as spreading awareness around campus.