Total underwear collected is 1,634,275

Thank you for sending us a pantastic 3,070 parcels in June. Unfortunately, 447 of them were sent to us at Livingston – a problem that keeps happening because years’-old posts continue to be re-shared on social media. However, there has definitely been a drop in the number of parcels incorrectly addressed, so thanks to all our smarty pants champions for helping us to spread the word that the right address is Five Sisters Business Park, Westwood, West Calder EH55 8PN. Please keep it going!

Over the past year and a half, we’ve received more requests for pants than ever before, with requests from within the UK rising significantly. People’s Postcode Trust is a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and we were delighted to receive £8,000 from the Trust to help fulfil increased demand for pants for those in need in Scotland as a result of poverty. Our thanks go to the Trust for this help at a time when our stocks of pants are running particularly low. While this grant is just for Scotland, it does mean it will take pressure off the stocks we have for Africa and the rest of the UK.

Since January 2021, we’ve provided 34,437 pairs of pants to people in need in Africa and the UK. We want to make sure we can keep providing pants to those who need them, so we’re running a pants appeal on social media. We’ll be explaining why we need pants, where and who they go to and what they mean to the people who receive them – the power of pants!

Since our last Talking Pants, we’ve provided underwear to 3 organisations:

• 1,050 pairs of new pants to Project Gambia.
• 781 pairs of new pants, and new and gently worn bras to the Dundee International Women’s Centre.
• 773 pairs of new pants to 500 miles, Malawi.

The lockdowns and the tighter levels of restrictions we’ve faced over the last year presented Smalls with a few wee challenges in receiving your pantastic donations. Parcels piled up while we were unable to work and our sweet but dilapidated little old shed – which is where couriers leave your parcels when we’re not open – struggled to cope. Our thanks go to the Berfred Foundation for making it possible to replace our old courier shed with a new, bigger and sturdier shed!

We hugely appreciate every underwear or financial contribution you make to Smalls to help us carry on our work.

Thank you so much!

Maria