Anyone can start a Glow Forward chapter! While most of our current chapters are based at medical schools, we welcome students, community members, and organizations of all kinds to join our mission. If you’re passionate about collecting donations and supporting local shelters, you’re invited to start a chapter and help bring confidence and care to women in your community.

Each Glow Forward chapter is required to:

• Host two collection drives per year.

• Set a goal of 200 individual donated items per drive.

  • Each individually wrapped product counts as a single item (e.g., one tampon = one item).

• Direct collected donations in one of two ways:

  1. Directly to the chapter, allowing the chapter to purchase additional products for donation, or

  2. To the national organization, supporting Glow Forward’s mission on a broader scale.

If your chapter would like a unique Square donation link to collect funds for the national organization, please contact Haily Fritts at hfritts@icom.edu.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world.

Glow Forward recognizes that each COM/SOM may have its own internal process for how students log volunteer and TOUCH hours. Chapters must always follow their institution’s specific guidelines for hour submission, documentation, and verification.

According to the 2025 TOUCH Rules and Regulations (Section VIII.C.1):

• Students may earn a maximum of 10 TOUCH hours per cycle for item donation drives.

• Students may claim no more than 2 TOUCH hours per individual donation drive.

• Institutions may determine the minimum donation value needed to earn one TOUCH hour, but this minimum cannot exceed $10.

• These rules apply only to item donations; monetary donations are not eligible for TOUCH credit.

Glow Forward abides by these national TOUCH rules, and chapters must follow both:

1. Their institution’s logging and documentation procedures, and

2. The national TOUCH program’s regulations regarding donation-drive hour eligibility.

As long as chapters comply with their school’s requirements and the national TOUCH standards, they are free to run their Glow Forward drives in whatever format best supports their community.

Please refer to the list of established Glow Forward chapters below. If your school is listed, you can get involved as a Glow Getter (volunteer) by reaching out directly to your chapter leads. If your school is not listed, you’re welcome to start a new chapter and help bring Glow Forward to your community!

Once you’ve registered your chapter, you’re ready to begin planning your first donation drive! You’ll receive digital materials to help spread the word, including flyers and social media graphics.

Your drive can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like. Many chapters have had great success partnering with local gyms, coffee shops, or community centers and leaving small donation baskets with an “About Glow Forward” flyer attached. But don’t feel overwhelmed—your setup doesn’t need to be fancy. Even a recycled cardboard box can become a collection bin with a sign and some tape.

Get creative, have fun, and build your drive in a way that feels authentic to your community!