IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR THOSE UNDERWEAR BARGAINS
I'll bet all of you remember that August 5th is National Underwear Day, right? How about celebrating this significant holiday (or its month, when the price is right) by buying a package of girls' or women's panties for our kits? And encouraging everybody who has told you that they think Days for Girls is a great cause to do the same? We have nearly 200 people on our email list. How fantastic if even half of them would donate a package of undies! In the next few weeks we'll be seeing the best prices of the year--typically 50¢ a pair when you buy the bonus packs. Do you belong to a service organization, book or church group, etc. that might like to add some too? Ask me for a receipt for an in-kind donation!
We have found that summer is the best time to buy the underwear for our kits. We go through our supply of them fast, because two pair go in every kit (A thousand pair will be in the 500 kits we're putting together for distribution to refugees this fall).
We have found that summer is the best time to buy the underwear for our kits. We go through our supply of them fast, because two pair go in every kit (A thousand pair will be in the 500 kits we're putting together for distribution to refugees this fall).
The styles we prefer are briefs and bikinis, and hipsters are OK (We're told the girls much prefer the bikini style). With back-to-school sales, mostly at Target and Walmart, for Fruit of the Loom and Hanes, we can usually get them in bonus packs for 50 cents a pair. If you have a Target Red card, you can use that 5% discount too! We use girls' sizes 10-16, and smaller women's sizes. Other brands, such as Wonder Nation, are fine too.
We need to avoid anything with faces, anything patriotic, and all the other restrictions DFG has for fabric patterns. Darker colors and busy prints hide stains the best, but we do dye ones that are too light. This is because anything that shows stains and hints of menstruation probably would be too embarrassing to dry in the sun, not receiving the benefits of the ultraviolet rays of sunlight which help to disinfect.
FLASH ALERT--I just got Target's weekly ad online. 10+3 pair packs of Fruit of the Loom girls' undies are $6.99 or 53¢ a pair. If you have a Target card, with your 5% discount that brings it down to 51¢ a pair. 2019 underwear sales, here we come!
We need to avoid anything with faces, anything patriotic, and all the other restrictions DFG has for fabric patterns. Darker colors and busy prints hide stains the best, but we do dye ones that are too light. This is because anything that shows stains and hints of menstruation probably would be too embarrassing to dry in the sun, not receiving the benefits of the ultraviolet rays of sunlight which help to disinfect.
FLASH ALERT--I just got Target's weekly ad online. 10+3 pair packs of Fruit of the Loom girls' undies are $6.99 or 53¢ a pair. If you have a Target card, with your 5% discount that brings it down to 51¢ a pair. 2019 underwear sales, here we come!
NEW FACEBOOK GROUP
Days for Girls has just formed a new Facebook group for DFG advocacy. This is open to all who are interested, not just team and chapter leaders. It's my understanding that if you just paste the address in your browser, you don't have to log in with a Facebook account of your own. Check it out (not much there to see yet, though).
GIRLS NOT BRIDES
Here's a group I hadn't heard of before. Check out their website. I love that Days for Girls isn't the only nonprofit working on these issues.
FABRIC SALE
As mentioned earlier, there's a fabric (etc.) sale at Our Sewing Room on August 10. I've reserved a couple of tables at which I'll attempt to sell fabric, sewing supplies and other wonderful things to interested buyers. Can you help? Yes, please! Bring your no-longer-wanted fabric, UFOs and other items that might interest sewers, knitters, etc. that we can try to sell at our space. Our August 3 workday is a perfect time to drop it off with me. If you're bringing fabric, please label it with number of yards. We did this a few years ago and raised about $100 for Days for Girls. Let's beat that this year! Donate your for-sale items AND then come and shop, August 10th, 9 am to 3 pm! Mark your calendars--it's the Saturday after our August workday.
DEHUMIDIFIER
Dehumidifiers are expensive and we need them for our back rooms work/storage space. I bought the cheapest one ($169) at Home Depot--"cheap" because it's the smallest one they had. So, even if I went in daily, the tank filled quickly and whenever I arrived, the tank was full and the dehumidifier had stopped removing moisture from the air. What I needed was a few feet of garden hose so it could continuously drain into the sink.
A huge thank you to Chris, who not only donated a piece of hose from their yard, but made sure it worked in the dehumidifier. So, that little appliance will be continuously removing moisture from the air, whether I'm there to empty the tank or not! This is the same Chris who took a suitcase full of a colorful flannel print to the teams and chapters in New Zealand last year when he flew there to meet a new grandchild. Fabric is so expensive there, and their flannels are pretty much limited to pastel solids and baby prints, neither of which are good choices for our liners. They were delighted.
And more thanks to the dedicated and generous volunteer who donated funds to buy a second humidifier for our other room!
And while I'm thanking, kudos also go to Jim rescued some single-use medical implements that will help us thread sergers and even sewing machines. They'll sure get more than one use in our hands.
A huge thank you to Chris, who not only donated a piece of hose from their yard, but made sure it worked in the dehumidifier. So, that little appliance will be continuously removing moisture from the air, whether I'm there to empty the tank or not! This is the same Chris who took a suitcase full of a colorful flannel print to the teams and chapters in New Zealand last year when he flew there to meet a new grandchild. Fabric is so expensive there, and their flannels are pretty much limited to pastel solids and baby prints, neither of which are good choices for our liners. They were delighted.
And more thanks to the dedicated and generous volunteer who donated funds to buy a second humidifier for our other room!
And while I'm thanking, kudos also go to Jim rescued some single-use medical implements that will help us thread sergers and even sewing machines. They'll sure get more than one use in our hands.
JULY WORKDAY
Our group of workers on the 6th included many regulars and four first-timers. We even had some volunteers visiting from out of state!
Steve (the guy on the left), visiting with his family from St. Louis, was kind enough to deliver supplies to Kenya last year. Nice to get to meet him and thank him in person! And thanks to his local sister Heather for letting me know he was willing and able. I found a Missouri team near him that had kits, the team leader's daughter was heading his way, and the kits ended up with Christine at the Nairobi Enterprise (Read about Christine, featured in the April 28 blog entry). Days for Girls calls connections like this the Undieground Railroad.
ANOTHER AMAZING CONNECTION--THANK YOU FROGGI
I got an email from someone in Corvallis whom I hadn't met who was leaving in a couple of days for Haiti for work and willing to transport supplies for us. It took some scrambling to get contact info for the enterprise leaders there to see what they could use. We ended up sending liners and bags last week, items that Froggi, the traveller, could pack around the tablets she was taking with her, and the enterprise workers can include in kits for future distributions. The enterprise leader in Haiti shared photos of women learning to use their new Juki (WOW!), some education sessions (including Men Who Know), and a few young women with their new kits .
IN EGYPT
Egypt has eased some restrictions on menstruating girls and women. Read how things are changing with the younger generation.
AND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Schools are now required to have free tampons and pads available in their restrooms. Caroline Dillon is one powerful 18 year-old!
WASHCLOTHS
Patty called yesterday to let me know Fred Meyer's was having a Buy-one, Get-one for half price sale on 12- and 8-packs of colorful washcloths, which were already marked down, plus there was an in-store coupon. It worked out to about 25¢ each. She cleaned out the store on the coast, I bought all at the Springfield store, and when last I talked to her, she was at the River Road location. Great score--wonderful colors and incredible price! Thank you, Patty!
AUGUST WORKDAY
I hope you can join us for our monthly workday on Saturday, August 3. We have lots of jobs--sewing, serging, and all the support tasks-rotary cutting, pressing, pinning, glue-basting, folding, snapping, etc. We meet at Our Sewing Room in Springfield, 10 am to 4 pm. Park free all day across the street in the bank lot, or in the city hall/library lots. But on-street parking is monitored and limited to 2-hours.
We will be partnering with a very large trusted NGO to reach these final three locations. This organization in internationally well-respected and has extensive experience working in refugee settings globally. They shared that the need for DfG Kits and Menstrual Health education in these locations is extensive and exceeds our 33,000 target, so if we go over, the extra will be sure to reach refugee women and girls in these countries! We will be revealing this partnership next month once formal partnership contracts are finalized! In the meantime, here is an overview of the situation in these countries and why our DfG Kits are especially needed in these areas.