Total underwear collected is 2,003,595

Thank you for sending us a pantastic 1,861 parcels in October.

Last year, we shared with you the wonderful news that People’s Postcode Trust gave us £8,000 to help meet the increased demand for pants for those in need in Scotland as a result of poverty. We used these funds to buy pants from a wholesaler, helping make up for the drop in donations we’ve been experiencing. The pants are going to 5 charities in Scotland, who will make sure the pants get to women, children and men in need.

One of our lovely supporters – Jane – has been in touch to say whenever she’s shopping, she likes to check out her favourite charity shops for packs of new pants for us. When she buys from them, the prices are cheaper than regular shops and it means she’s supporting two charities at once! What a great idea – thanks, Jane!

Since our last Talking Pants, we’ve provided new pants and new and gently worn bras to 6 organisations:

• 470 pairs of pants to Future of Taru which will be given to school children in Taru, Kenya.
• 565 pairs of pants to Care4Calais for asylum seekers in Stockport.
• 2,750 pairs of pants and bras to Showerbox, an organisation that provides showers to homeless people in Central and East London, and Birmingham.
• 1,500 pairs of pants to Chifundo UK, an organisation providing hygiene kits to girls in Blantyre, Malawi.
• 380 pairs of pants to Simon Community, an organisation working with the homeless in Central London.
• 370 pairs of pants to Days for Girls (Ealing, North Herts) to be included with hygiene kits going to Ethiopia.

Last month, we mentioned that we were able to give The Hubb Foundation 1,000 pairs of pants. This is a charity dedicated to supporting families and communities across Stoke-on-Trent. The pants went to 4 different schools. The Hubb’s Nausheen Latif told us, “Schools have identified a need for underwear for young girls who are menstruating as unfortunately during this time these girls are missing school due to not having enough/clean underwear. We’re grateful for any support you can provide to help young girls who are in desperate need to ensure they can attend school.”

Please nominate Smalls for All in this year’s 12 Days of Giving. You’re just a click away from giving us a chance of winning £1,000, which could make a real difference to the work we do supporting people in Africa and the UK who can’t afford or can’t get any underwear. Please click and ‘nominate a charity for £1,000’! (Our ‘charity type’ is ‘poverty’.) https://movementforgood.com/ 

Lastly, Smalls runs a small lottery to help with our overheads. While there are no spaces at the moment, we normally have a wee ‘reserve’ list of people who would like to join. The commitment is £5 payable on the 1st of the month, and the number of tickets is strictly limited to 200. Each month, someone wins £500 and Smalls receives £500. If you’re interested in joining our reserve list to take part as soon as a number becomes available, please email [email protected].

Thank you all so much for your support!

Maria