[I:http://www.weddingtoastsandspeeches.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/KateKew11.jpg]It is one of the best gifts my mother has ever given me. She spent the winter piecing it together and now I hold in my hands a bound and translated copy of the letters her own mother wrote to her from a Salzburg refugee settlement in the late 1940’s. From Hungarian to English, these letters unfold the tale of a family coping in a postwar world and they were sent on their way across the Atlantic sealed with love and hope for an eldest daughter’s success. Woven in among the family news were requests for my mother to send back goods that were otherwise impossible to obtain in the difficult living conditions amid Europe’s rubble.
Antibiotics, sugar and shoes were among the expected enumerations of these letters’ requests. But one particular petition stood out for me, an item so commonplace in my life that I have never before given it a second thought. Her mother desperately needed elastic waistband material because the little children’s underwear was falling apart and she hoped to mend the articles.
This conjured a strong image in my mind that stays with me, a picture of my grandmother reaching for the mending the moment her daughter’s package arrived, conscientiously taking care of her little ones’ hidden needs. How many times have I sorted through my own growing family’s undergarments, sorting out the ones that were outgrown, still bright white and with lots of life left in them? Undergarments are not exactly a used clothing category that Goodwill makes shelf room for. And with the usual momentary guilt, I have tossed those undergarments.
Simple undergarments are readily available at places like Walmart in packs of five or six, at a price that does not seem like much of a hardship. But then that is not keeping in mind the various levels of hardship that can exist in our American communities. Our society has its barriers and veneers that keep a lot of people’s struggles below the average citizen’s radar. Underwear may not be as uncommon a concern as first thought.
With very little research, one quickly discovers that there is always plenty of shelf space available at a variety of charities and shelters for donations of new underwear, disposable baby diapers and adult diapers. It also stands to reason that because these are “out of sight” necessities, they do not attract the average donor’s attention.
It occurs to me that organizing a Drawer Drop or Diaper Drive would be an effective way to privately commemorate that lifeline between my mother and grandmother. Not only would it serve as a help to the end recipients, but it would also help raise a community’s charitable awareness about an often forgotten necessity.
Cotton underwear and disposable baby diaper contributions may initially appear to be the main focus of such an event but there are some other important elements to consider. The expense of both disposable baby diapers and adult diapers do not come under the umbrellas of the WIC , Medicare or food stamps programs. This often leaves an already strapped family in a deeper lurch over some basic necessities that cannot be ignored. Adult diapers and adult incontinence products may seem like an unusual component of a charity drive, but it is important to realize that adult diapers are a financial burden for many seniors living on the edge and family caregivers who already have a full plate of financial obligations.
Organizing this type of a donation event can be a lot of work but there is also a lot of community fun and spirit to be experienced. Once there is an established partnership with a charity that will be taking delivery of the results, publicizing the event is the next most important step. Posters and literature announcing the upcoming drive should be up at churches, clinics, schools and storefronts. These places all make excellent collection sites as well. A local radio station should be able to make free announcements as part of their public service and maybe even volunteer a personality to broadcast from the main collection site. Festivity offerings like a small petting zoo or rides in a firetruck can all add up to a big turnout.
If one wanted to kick things up a notch or two, in the words of a popular chef, a cocktail occasion celebrating the cause could be a ticketed event. Admission would also require the drop of donated undies or adult diapers at the door for a fun “Drop Your Drawers” evening. An evening like this has the promise of popular appeal and could easily become an annual event.
My mother, at eighteen years old and steadily paying back her trans Atlantic fare, would get off from a shift of emptying bedpans at a psychiatric hospital and pack a parcel of medicine, clothes and treats to ship back to Europe. Dutifully and lovingly tucked in among the hard earned goods, was a generous roll of elastic waistband material. It is a different time now but some unseen needs have not changed. We can certainly do something about that on our own home front.