Let’s Get Our Knickers in a Twist

After volunteering at women’s refuges local to me and listening to many stories from ladies who simply cannot afford underwear and often are in extremely vulnerable situations, I was inspired to start this campaign. With the uprise of charity shopping and clothing donations, many women in need now have improved access to second-hand clothing; however, many people forget that the one item that charity shops cannot sell and charities cannot take second-hand donations of is underwear, due to personal hygiene reasons. There is consequently a dire deficiency of brand-new underwear available for women who need it the most and we are fighting for that access to underwear to be created.
 
 We accept both donations of new unused packaged underwear and monetary donations to spend on buying such. The items are distributed to women’s refuge centres around the UK and now globally. These centres help to provide recovery and support for vulnerable women who have been victims of addiction and domestic abuse, who are involved in sex work, and whom have been in contact with the criminal justice system- often due to no fault of their own. Many of these situations lead to homelessness and these ladies have little to no access to new clothes or underwear. 
 
 The predicament that many of these women face is one of dignity. Knickers are an intimate and personal item and asking for them in a time of need can feel humiliating. We aim to diminish this stigma and stock women’s refuges’ drawers so the ladies we help do not even need to ask. We believe every woman should have the chance to feel both empowered in themselves as well as feel the physical security that underwear provides.
 
 I have focussed the organisation around a dual empowerment model, not only empowering the women we donate to, but also empowering those who want to help support the charity through impactful fundraising efforts and community building.