Women vicars from Manchester are backing a campaign that aims to provide good quality, correctly fitting bras for homeless women.
North-West leading charity for the homeless and marginalised, the Mustard Tree, has paired up with a Manchester lingerie boutique Lucile to launch Bosom Buddies 2010; a campaign that aims to provide good quality, correctly fitting bras for women who would otherwise have to go without.
A recent survey revealed that on average British women own 13 bras but only regularly wear eight of them (One Poll, March 2010). That means a lot of bras are going begging. In fact, that makes about 124 million in total, so a campaign has been launched to get the ‘hands on’ some of those bras to support homeless women across Manchester and the North West of England.
Supported by the Diocese of Manchester, the campaign has started to encourage ladies to have a rummage through their drawers and the appeal is to bring in, or post, any bras they can spare to the Mustard Tree Charity (110 Oldham Road, Manchester M4 6AG) or to Lucile Lingerie Boutique (Police Street, Manchester M2 7LQ).
Revd Jan Harney, long time friend to Activate, is delighted to back up and support the campaign. She said: “Women come in all shapes and sizes, beautifully crafted by a God who loves each one of us and has called us to love and care for each other in practical as well as emotional and spiritual ways. Giving away surplus money and clothing to others in need is our response to humanity using Jesus’ example, yet for some reason, many of us hold onto our bras. Perhaps we’re too shy to hand them in? Or just waiting for the day we can fit into them again? But someone else living an itinerant lifestyle is in need of the particular dignity that well-fitting underwear brings. It’s another of life’s little mysteries. We can’t explain it really, but we know the difference it makes to our confidence”.
Revd Jan Harney continues: “So come on girls, please, we urge you. Whether your spare bras are ‘itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny’ or more of the ‘over-shoulder-boulder-holder’ style, a sister out there will be blessed by them”.
Perhaps you could take half an hour to declutter your underwear drawer and pop the spares into the post. Or you could galvanise your female friends and have a ‘Bosom Buddies’ get together where you provide wine and nibbles and your friends arrive for the evening with their spare bras ready to pop into a group gift-box to post the following morning.