Salisbury Soroptimists CeleBRAte New Record!

Counting complete, Salisbury Soroptimists celebrated smashing last year's total of 3,736 bras with a huge haul of 6,014!

Project Leader, Penny Joyce said ' Thank you to everyone who contributed to this amazing total! I had bags delivered to my door nearly every day and even some posted to me, following publicity from BBC Wiltshire.' The main collection point at Five Rivers Leisure Centre was emptied, often daily, by our volunteers and other people collected in their homes, bringing them to the count.

All the donations were sorted and counted into piles of 10. These were packed into sacks totalling 100 for onward transport. We decided to use a courier this year instead of packing into several cars. We were glad we had when we saw the number of sacks!

Barry of BMC Clearance Services arrived on time, despite the England Euro semi-final was about to begin! The bags were safely stowed in his van for him to drive to Zabra's lock-up in Twickenham the following day. 'This has got to be one of my more unusual transport jobs' Barry quipped, ' I might get a bit of teasing for this one!'

The bras will be sent to various African countries, where many women lack the resources to buy a bra. Women tend to be low down on the priorities for family finance. A bra can give women dignity and confidence, apart from comfort! 'The generosity of Salisbury and surrounds continues to amaze us' said President Michele Smith. ' This year's collection alone has saved nearly 400kg of bras going to landfill or fabric recycling and instead given a new lease of life. Thank you to everyone who donated!'

Salisbury Soroptimists hope to collect again next year, so don't throw those bras away in the meantime!!

Posted: 16 July, 2024