Fighting hygiene poverty, one chapter at a time.
Plover International is a global, youth-led nonprofit advancing hygiene access and health education for underserved communities worldwide — from homeless shelters to crisis relief centers, across five continents.
Empowering youth to close the hygiene gap.
Plover exists to put the tools of global hygiene relief directly into the hands of students. We believe young people shouldn't have to wait until adulthood to lead — so we hand them the training, structure, and support to run real programs, today. Here's how it works.
Start a chapter
Any student can launch a Plover chapter at their school or in their community. Founding officers receive a full chapter toolkit — training, branded materials, and direct mentorship from our International Leadership team — to get up and running fast.
Choose a branch
Every chapter picks the branch that matches its community's most urgent need: Bloom Aid for feminine hygiene, G-DAF for oral hygiene, or Baby Bundles for pediatric hygiene. Many chapters go on to run more than one.
Run the program
Officers take on real leadership — organizing donation drives, managing budgets, fundraising, and partnering with local shelters, schools, and community organizations to get hygiene kits directly into the hands of the people who need them.
Connect globally
Every chapter plugs into a network of 350+ chapters across five continents. Through our International Leadership team, officers share what's working and become part of a global effort, not just a local one.
In numbers, and in communities.
Through grassroots organizing, student-led campaigns, and strategic community partnerships, Plover International has mobilized substantial support to deliver thousands of hygiene kits across five continents since our founding in 2023.
Our network of schools.
Plover's officers and directors are enrolled at some of the nation's most selective universities and secondary institutions — a growing network of accomplished alumni who carry our mission forward wherever they go.
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Each branch targets a different form of hygiene poverty.
Each chapter selects the branch — and the corresponding donation type — best suited to the needs of its community.
Bloom Aid
Feminine hygiene essentials — pads, tampons, underwear, and liners — provided with dignity and care.
G-DAF
Oral hygiene essentials — toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and other dental care items — for lasting health.
Baby Bundles
Pediatric hygiene essentials — diapers, wipes, formula, and pacifiers — supporting infants and their families.
Named for a bird that cleans crocodile teeth.
Plover International takes its name from the plover bird, celebrated for its symbiotic relationship with the Nile crocodile — clearing debris from its teeth in an exchange of mutual benefit. This partnership mirrors our own mission: empowering youth to expand hygiene access and cultivate a global network of reciprocal care for underserved communities.
Two students, one conference, one mission.
Daniel Kwon and Carina Chen first met at the 2023 HOSA International Leadership Conference. A shared conversation about global health disparities evolved into a shared vision, and that vision became Plover International — founded from the ground up by two students determined to confront hygiene poverty directly.
Together, Daniel and Carina cofounded Plover and guided the organization through its earliest chapters, partnerships, and campaigns. Today, they serve in an advisory capacity on the Board of Advisors, having entrusted day-to-day leadership to the next generation of officers while remaining closely engaged in the organization's strategic direction.
Friends since fifth grade, partners in purpose.
Daniel Kwon and Mimi Kambayashi have been close friends since the fifth grade. Long before Plover existed, Mimi had already established herself as a passionate advocate for women's health and menstrual equity. Inspired by her conviction, Daniel worked alongside her to build Bloom Aid from the ground up, turning her advocacy into Plover's feminine hygiene branch and, in time, into a nationwide effort.
Today, Bloom Aid stands as one of Plover's three core branches — a direct product of a friendship that began over a decade ago.
That advocacy has reached the statehouse, too. Carina Chen and the Bloom Aid team supported the push behind Pennsylvania House Bill 851, signed into law as part of the state's 2024–25 budget, which created a $3 million grant program requiring public schools across Pennsylvania to provide menstrual products to students at no cost. The funding — roughly $1.75 per student — is helping schools statewide stock pads, tampons, and other essentials so that no student has to miss class over a lack of access.
Grateful for those who've backed our mission.
From universities and student organizations to shelters, foundations, and the media, our partners extend our reach and reinforce our impact.
Our cofounders.
Daniel Kwon
Cofounder · Board of AdvisorsDaniel Kwon is the founder of Iyagi Consulting, a firm helping creator-CEOs scale their online businesses, and advises a portfolio of venture-backed startups across the Y Combinator and a16z ecosystems. He forwent a traditional college path after accepting a full-time offer from a $200 million ed-tech company straight out of high school.
Carina Chen
Cofounder · Board of Advisors
Carina Chen studies mathematics at Princeton University and was named the 2025 Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. She has partnered extensively with Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL) to advance youth tobacco and vaping prevention.
Mimi Kambayashi
Cofounder · Founder of Bloom Aid
Mimi Kambayashi is the founder of Bloom Aid and a passionate advocate for women's health and empowerment. She will study Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at UCLA, building on her leadership with ECHOES educating young women on menstrual health.
Irene Hong
Board of Advisors · Harvard University
Irene Hong lends a Harvard University perspective to Plover's Board of Advisors, sharpening the organization's long-term strategy with rigorous, first-principles thinking.
Kushagra Behl
Board of Advisors · Georgia Tech, Math & Computing
Kushagra Behl brings a quantitative edge to Plover's Board of Advisors, applying his mathematics and computing background at Georgia Tech to the organization's growth and operations.
Natalie Wang
Board of Advisors · Stanford University, Economics & Data Science
Natalie Wang draws on her studies in economics and data science at Stanford University to help guide Plover's strategic and data-driven decision-making.
Alyssa Chung
Board of Advisors · University of Michigan
Alyssa Chung contributes a University of Michigan perspective to Plover's Board of Advisors, championing the organization's continued growth and impact.
Leila Xie
CEOLeila Xie serves as Chief Executive Officer of Plover International, having previously held the role of International Director of Finances. A student at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Massachusetts, she brings a rigorous, detail-oriented approach to the organization's financial stewardship and long-term strategic direction.
Aarush Kutikanti
COOAarush Kutikanti serves as Chief Operating Officer of Plover International, having previously held the role of International Secretary. A student at Classen School of Advanced Studies in Edmond, Oklahoma, he oversees the organization's day-to-day operations and the coordination of its global chapter network.
Joel Kwon
Co-International Baby Bundles President, Conestoga HS
Dom Pecora
Co-International Baby Bundles President, Conestoga HSLeading locally, around the world
Every pin is a chapter run by a student leader — hover a marker or scan the roster below for the full list.
Click a category to filter the map.
Join our team.
Become part of a global movement for change — start a chapter, lead a branch, or lend your support from wherever you are.
Apply Here