Drawer Drops and Diaper Drives
It is about a half inch thick sheaf of bound pages and quite possibly, one of the best gifts my mother could ever give me. Translated from Hungarian to English, it is a collection of her own mother’s letters written to her and mailed from a refugee settlement in Salzburg in the late 1940’s. They are stories of family life under difficult circumstances, infused with hope and longing for an eldest daughter who had found a new life across the Atlantic. And intertwined with love and familial accounts, there were continual requests for basic goods that were unattainable in the ruins of Europe.
Many of the requests were ones I would have typically expected, given the history of the times: antibiotics, shoes, sugar and so on. But there was a dry good mentioned that caught me off guard. It was a petition for some elastic to sew into the younger children’s underwear which was wearing out. Certainly this was a mundane essential I would never have thought of.
How many pairs of my own children’s outgrown underwear have I jettisoned that were still bright white with plenty of stretch left in them? I have always done so with a measure of guilt but underwear just isn’t the kind of clothing the local thrift shop will redistribute. This makes the picture in my mind all the more poignant: My grandmother eagerly awaiting a package that would allow her to start sewing and take care of her little ones’ hidden needs.
Cotton underwear is easily found in packages of multiples at most department stores and is sold at prices that do not seem like much of a hardship. But that is shallow thinking on my part; I am not taking into account what levels of hardship may possibly exist in my own town. There are many hidden struggles that lie beneath the veneer of my community or simply do not attract my radar because of my limited social scope. Undergarments may be more of an unsung concern that I originally thought.
After a little research, I have discovered that shelters, charities and relief organizations deeply appreciate donations of new underwear, baby diapers and adult incontinence products like adult diapers and pull-ups. It turns out that “out of sight, out of mind” applies to this particular area of clothing contributions. There is always an outstanding request for a supply of these items in unopened, new packaging at charitable organizations.
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.
While cloth underwear and baby diapers are what most people first think of when considering their donation, it is interesting to learn that there is a real need for charities to stock up on adult diapers. Disposable diapers, for both babies and adults, do not come under the assistance umbrellas of such programs as WIC, food stamps or Medicare. The cost of these products strains a struggling family even further. The thought of contributing adult diapers may give people pause for a moment but it is not hard to understand when considering what financial burden their purchase places on family caregivers and the number of seniors squeaking by, already making choices between medications or groceries.
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.
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