Brotherly Love: Donated New Bras Can Make A Difference
By Ukee Washington
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) -- Many charities offer gently used business clothes to women struggling to get back on their feet. But women need more than a suit. A Cherry Hill couple is filling a need that can seem invisible.
It's sorting day at Distributing Dignity, the Cherry Hill non-profit started by Joanie Balderstone and her wife, Rebecca McIntire. Their generosity is nothing new. For years, they were part of a committee donating business clothes to a homeless day center.
Joanie said, "One of the women pulled her aside and said, 'Thank you for the suit, but I don't have a decent bra to wear underneath it.'"
When Joanie and Rebecca heard about that, they started collecting bras, and they spread the word. Donations rolled in.
Their niece, 13-year-old Susannah Balderstone, helps sort the bras. "They're all very colorful and different and, like, unique to everybody who gets them," she said.
Last year, the project officially became a non-profit. Since last March, it has donated more than a thousand bras, all brand new.
Rebecca McIntire said, "I think it's something that they don't normally receive, and they seem to really appreciate getting something new."
Distributing Dignity also collects feminine hygiene products. Joanie and her niece, 13-year-old Maggie Balderstone, are packing up hundreds of them for homeless women.
"The women will be able to take a whole pack with them, but it's a small pack so it's discrete and it should last them for a while," Joanie said.
"I would never want to go without any of these things, and living without them is unthinkable," Maggie said.
These hygiene supplies will go to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, which helps the homeless. Karen Talarico runs it. "It's really a cool idea that this is something started by women, for women, and supported by women," she said. "I love that."
The project is so big, it just moved into its own rented space.
"So many people want to help, and they help, and it's awesome," said Susannah.
Distributing Dignity welcomes donations of new bras and unopened packages of hygiene products like tampons and pads. Joanie estimate they've already reached 300 women this year.
To find drop-off locations, go to the Distributing Dignity website: http://www.distributingdignity.org/
