803 bras! That was the final number collected by Cannock Soroptimists to help women in Uganda, El Salvador and Mozambique who have escaped from or have been rescued from trafficking. Cannock Soroptimists are so grateful to all of those who donated their pre-loved bras: many took them along to the Soroptimists stand at St Luke’s Church Fayre, others held their own collections at work or amongst family and delivered them to club members – and many individuals donated, too.
The bras had to be delivered to the Purple Teardrop Campaign, run by SI Poole. The cost of sending four very large boxes to Poole could have been prohibitive – but along came EDS Couriers to the rescue! Andy Evans, MD, is well known to two members of the Soroptimist club and when he heard of their project he immediately offered to help. Darren Wright, his Parcels Operation Manager, came along to collect the boxes and told Soroptimists Val, June, Trish and Lynne that the company was delighted to be able to help such a cause; the boxes were then couriered to Poole overnight and received the following day by a delighted member of SI. Poole.
The bras have not only travelled to Poole, they are already on their way to the places where 8 women will now be enabled to build self sufficient, respectable lives for themselves. The Purple Teardrop Campaign, a Soroptimist International charity, will provide each woman with 100 bras and basic business training; they will then sell the bras – which are a highly prized item – using the money gained to purchase more bras to sell and also to provide themselves and their families with shelter and food. This in turn will mean that they will be given the opportunity of a life outside of the world of trafficking and the sex trade – empowered, educated and enabled to do so by the kindness and generosity of people in the Cannock area.
More information about Purple Teardrop is available on the website www.purpleteardrop.org
and about the Cannock Soroptimist Club on www.sigbi.org/cannock-and-district
or on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SICannock
Photos attached:1: putting the boxes in the van: Soroptimists Lynne Tuckley; Val Jones; Trish Mellor; June Bould; Darren Wright EDS Couriers,
2: Soroptimists Lynne Tuckley, Val Jones, Darren Wright; Soroptimists Trish Mellor, June Bould