Total underwear collected is 2,503,227

Thank you for sending us a pantastic 1,689 parcels in September which takes us to over 2.5 million items of underwear collected since Smalls started – a staggering achievement that’s entirely down to you – our wonderful supporters!

And to even bigger news:

Smalls is on the move! I’m beyond excited to share that, starting 23 November, Smalls will operate from a dedicated, secure, and separate area within Iron Mountain’s facility in Livingston.

Like many small charities, we’ve faced plenty of day-to-day challenges but nothing compared to the massive challenge of finding proper premises to work from. Earlier in the year I started looking at different options – not that there were that many as renting the space we need is not cheap. From small beginnings in my garage and garden, I was faced with trying to secure the right operational space where we can collect and distribute thousands of items of underwear each year, and where our volunteers can work from. I admit that at times it felt impossible and I wondered if Smalls had a future. 

It was a bit of a bleak start to the year, but then a few months ago I got a call out of the blue from Garry Blair at Iron Mountain. As many of you will know, Iron Mountain has supported us for a number of years now. Each month Iron Mountain employees come to help with our sorting sessions; they save us money by supplying cardboard boxes so we can send items of underwear to the people we work with; and they recycle our plastic and cardboard. Garry was calling to see what I thought about moving Smalls from West Calder to Livingston. I can’t actually remember what I said but he insisted he was being serious. After hearing I was looking to move and struggling to find the right space, he had been talking to colleagues and they had come up with the idea of, “why don’t we move her into the car park”.  Of course, I said yes.

By offering us storage and an operational space, they’re not just giving us a physical base to work from but total peace of mind. With a secure roof over our heads, I no longer have to worry about where we’ll operate from. This allows us to focus 100% of our energy on our core purpose, which is collecting underwear for people in need in Africa and the UK. From wondering if I’d be winding Smalls up as a charity to making plans for Q4 and 2027, it’s been quite a roller coaster! 

With our move fast approaching we’d like to say thank you to Iron Mountain. We’re so thankful for your support and for believing in what we do. By giving us this opportunity, you enable us to continue providing essential underwear to restore dignity, alleviate poverty and support education.

For now, please keep addressing your donations to Smalls for All, Five Sisters Business Park, Westwood, West Calder EH55 8PN. But from 23 November, please send them to:

Smalls for All, c/o Iron Mountain, Houstoun Industrial Estate, 4 Nettlehill Road, Livingston EH54 5DL

Since our last Talking Pants, we’ve provided new pants and new or gently worn bras to 10 organisations:

• 330 pairs of pants to Rowley Projects, a charity working with school children and villagers of Nyandiwa, Kenya.
• 544 pairs of pants to Streets Kitchen, a charity working with people experiencing homelessness across London.
• 30 pairs of pants to Days for Girls to be included in their menstruation kits for girls in the Gambia.
• 1,050 pairs of pants and bras to Care4Calais, an organisation supporting refugees in and around the Slough and Heathrow region.
• 190 pairs of pants to be taken to Woodlands primary school in Cape Town, South Africa, by pupils and staff of Larbert High School, Falkirk.
• 140 pairs of pants to The Salvation Army in London who support survivors of trafficking and modern day slavery.
• 315 pairs of pants and bras to El-Roi Ephphatha empowerment foundation, a non-profit working with disadvantaged families in Lagos, Nigeria.
• 85 pairs of pants to The Simon Community, a street work service for people sleeping rough in central London.
• 400 pairs of pants to Assisting Humanity and Blossoms, a registered community-based organisation in Nairobi, Kenya, who work with vulnerable youths and children living in informal settlements.
• 924 pairs of pants and bras to be taken to various organisations in and around Lilongwe, Malawi, by pupils and staff of George Watson’s College, Edinburgh.

Last month, I mentioned that Delyth was heading to Angola to help get our pant-making pilot kicked off. Everything is now in place: workshop, sewing machines, needles, thread, material, elastic, etc, and Delyth has been busy training local ladies Merry and Judith, shown below, how to make pants. The ladies are loving it so far! We’re still at a very early stage of the project of course, but we’ll let you know how things go as it progresses. Meantime, huge thanks again to Delyth who has been absolutely pivotal in getting this initiative off the ground.

Thanks as always for supporting Smalls, Maria

P.S.

If you’d like to donate money, you can do so here: https://bit.ly/money-sfa

Or donate pants the easy way: https://bit.ly/give-sfa