Michelle Jouvence believes bras are not just a luxury for women, but something that all women need. Unfortunately, she said, many women, including those who are homeless, go without the proper undergarments. That’s why she started a bra drive for local women shelters.
For the second year in a row, Jouvence, of Long Beach-based business Lucy’s Boudoir, will collect bras for one month and deliver them to the Lydia House in Long Beach.
Jouvence said she was inspired to start a bra drive 12 years ago when she owned a business in Los Angeles and met with the nonprofit Undershare, which was a charity that focused on collecting and bringing underwear to the homeless.
“This is when I realized the great need for this,” she said. “During the years that my business was in Los Angeles, we would donate any extra inventory of undergarments at the end of the year to the Los Angeles Rescue Mission.”
Jouvence said she moved her business to Long Beach three years ago, and saw an immense need to help the local community.
“During this season of giving, we often don’t think about how many people go without adequate undergarments,” Jouvence said. “So many people have brand new and nearly new bras in their drawers at home that they never wear. We are asking for people to donate these bras; we will be sure they are given to women who need them.”
During last year’s donation, Jouvence said many new bras were donated by women who purchased them without trying them on and learned they didn’t fit them correctly.
Jouvence does not have a count of how many bras were donated last year, but she said she expects several hundred bras to be donated this year. The business has been collecting bras since the beginning of the year, so she’s hoping the bra drive will give an extra boost to how many get donated.
Donations will be accepted at drop-off locations throughout Long Beach and Lucy’s Boudoir, located at 3925 Long Beach Blvd., from November 15 to December 15. Women are invited to donate new or clean, gently-used bras and new underpants. For a full list of drop-off locations, click here. Tax receipts are available for donations, and any monetary donations will be used to purchase new undergarments for the women in need.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.8299789,-118.18958789999999] FG_GEOMAP}