Home > Talking Pants > Talking Pants – February 2020

Total underwear collected is 1,233,401

We’ve now opened 1,957 of the parcels we received in December, so just 1,405 to go.

We’ve given 2,520 pairs of pants to 5 organisations since our last Talking Pants. Our thanks to:

  • Susan Flynn for organising 1,500 pairs of pants for use in Lotus Packs for schoolgirls of menstrual age at a government funded school in Blantyre, Malawi. This is part of a menstrual health educational project with staff, mothers, girls and boys.
  • Alison Hudson for organising kits containing pads, pants and soaps for girls at Tapazana Primary School, Dedza, Malawi.
  • Tina Rayburn, Action in Africa & Days for Girls working together to provide hygiene kits to students in Nyaishozi, Tanzania.
  • Linda McDonald for organising 120 pairs of pants for women using the services of the Bethany Christian Trust & Edinburgh Mission carevan in Edinburgh.
  • Helen Hunter of Peebles Days for Girls who will be providing hygiene kits to schools in Thondwe, Malawi.

To find out where all your donations have gone, please see our underwear timeline.

Earlier this month I was delighted to be told that we’d been awarded £4,000 from The Sun newspaper. As part of marking The Sun’s 50th birthday, they’ve set up The Sun Readers’ Fund where they were looking to donate grants totalling £1 million to small charities. One of our lovely volunteers submitted an application for £4,000 and we were fortunate enough to be awarded the money. As many of you will know, we moved premises last year and while we love our new home, space can be a challenge for us. Last year from April to December we received more than 51,000 parcels and boxes. We try to be organised, but the £4,000 will buy us industrial racks which will really help us maximise and organise our space better.

Big thanks to the HR team from the People’s Postcode Lottery, Edinburgh, for choosing to spend their volunteer-at-work day with Smalls. The team worked really hard and are welcome back anytime! If anyone else would be interested in spending the day with us at our warehouse in West Calder then please just let me know.

And a little reminder that the address for donations has changed. The address to send all underwear donations is Five Sisters Business Park, Westwood, West Calder EH55 8PN.

Maria