Undies for Charity
It is about a half inch thick sheaf of bound pages and quite possibly, one of the best gifts my mother could ever give me. Translated from Hungarian to English, it is a collection of her own mother’s letters written to her and mailed from a refugee settlement in Salzburg in the late 1940′s. They are stories of family life under difficult circumstances, infused with hope and longing for an eldest daughter who had found a new life across the Atlantic. And intertwined with love and familial accounts, there were continual requests for basic goods that were unattainable in the ruins of Europe.
Antibiotics, sugar and shoes were among the expected enumerations of these letters’ requests. But one particular petition stood out for me, an item so commonplace in my life that I have never before given it a second thought. Her mother desperately needed elastic waistband material because the little children’s underwear was falling apart and she hoped to mend the articles.
How many pairs of my own children’s outgrown underwear have I jettisoned that were still bright white with plenty of stretch left in them? I have always done so with a measure of guilt but underwear just isn’t the kind of clothing the local thrift shop will redistribute. This makes the picture in my mind all the more poignant: My grandmother eagerly awaiting a package that would allow her to start sewing and take care of her little ones’ hidden needs.
Simple undergarments are readily available at places like Walmart in packs of five or six, at a price that does not seem like much of a hardship. But then that is not keeping in mind the various levels of hardship that can exist in our American communities. Our society has its barriers and veneers that keep a lot of people’s struggles below the average citizen’s radar. Underwear may not be as uncommon a concern as first thought.
With very little research, one quickly discovers that there is always plenty of shelf space available at a variety of charities and shelters for donations of new underwear, disposable baby diapers and adult diapers. It also stands to reason that because these are “out of sight” necessities, they do not attract the average donor’s attention.
With that image of my grandmother in mind, it seems appropriate for me to organize a Drawer Drop or Diaper Drive. It would be a marker for me to privately honor that essential link between my mother and grandmother. Of course, the event would also serve the primary purposes of providing for a need and raising the community’s awareness about donating forgotten necessities.
Cotton underwear and disposable baby diaper contributions may initially appear to be the main focus of such an event but there are some other important elements to consider. The expense of both disposable baby diapers and adult diapers do not come under the umbrellas of the WIC , Medicare or food stamps programs. This often leaves an already strapped family in a deeper lurch over some basic necessities that cannot be ignored. Adult diapers and adult incontinence products may seem like an unusual component of a charity drive, but it is important to realize that adult diapers are a financial burden for many seniors living on the edge and family caregivers who already have a full plate of financial obligations.
How does one go about organizing such an event? After contacting and entering a partnership with a local charity, publicizing the event is crucial. Churches, fire departments, clinics, schools and storefronts make excellent locations for both advance advertizing and the collection of the goods on the day of. Getting a local radio station to announce the event as part of its public service messages is very helpful; maybe even get the station to be on location for part of the drop and its festivities. Some successful drives I have read about offered a gamut of activities ranging from face painting to handing out chocolate popsicles dubbed as “Poopsicles”. I am not sure I would advise heading in that direction but there is plenty of room for imagination.
If one is in the mindset of a more quiet and distinguished affair, a wine and cheese evening could be a ticketed event that also required a pack of undies or adult diapers donated at the door before admission. Posters or invitations announcing a “Drop Your Drawers” evening would be sure to cause a fun stir that could generate a productive outcome.
My mother, at eighteen and working overtime emptying bedpans in a psychiatric hospital to pay back her boat fare, dutifully and with love tucked rolls of elasticized waistband material in among the medicine, shoes and winter coats that she regularly shipped to Europe. That was a different time with different needs. But undergarments are in many cases, an unseen and urgent need today on our own home front and it is a fact that we can easily do something about.
Related posts: