While most of us spend a considerable amount of time gushing over pretty little undergarments and what we need to add to our ever-growing collections, we take for granted the simple luxuries we are afforded in our daily lives. Even as we speak, there are many women who are victims of sex trafficking in numerous countries where they suffer from brutal living conditions, repeated abuse, and life threatening situations from the people who force them into this way of life. Emmy award-winning television producer, Kimba Langas and social entrepreneur, Dave Terpstra, heard the stories of this women decided to dedicate their time and resources to help them by creating a charity to uplift their spirits by utilizing the lingerie we love so much.
Free the Girls started with the idea to help women who suffered at the hands of human traffickers. There are currently over 27 million men, women, and children being held as slaves. Many times these rescued victims are haunted by the atrocities they have seen and suffer from and the women are lucky enough to even leave alive are deeply wounded by the traumatic experiences as enslaved sex workers. Once out, many women try to sell clothing as a way to make an honest living to support themselves and their families so they don’t return to the dangerous trade. Free the Girls provides women with the wholesale inventory needed to make a decent selling bras so they can put themselves through school and provide for themselves to stay off the streets. Second-hand clothing is a profitable business in many countries around the world and let’s face it – every woman needs a decent bra in their closet. By having this competitive edge of selling an item that is an essential part of a female’s day, Free the Girls provides these women with the chance to live life with their freedom and independence in tact while avoid the dangers of sex traffickers looking to their abuse them. Since their launch in 2010, the organization has collected over 800,000 gently used bras to women all over the world and in Spring 2011, they worked with their first safe house partner, Project Purpose, with their pilot program in Mozambique, Africa where women make 3-5x the minimum wage, providing them with a way to live and not be on the streets. By selling these bras, women are able to turn themselves into thriving entrepreneurs and earn a sustainable incomes in a safe environment.
Support a great cause and donate your old bras. Lingerie retailer, Journelle, is hosting their own bra drive with the charity and is accepting donations at any of their 3 New York City locations until March 31st. Click here for more details. If you live outside of New York and would still like to get involve, click here to find out where are other drop-off locations.
For more on the charity work in Mozambique, Africa. Watch the documentary from CNN’s Freedom Project series here
Until the next time,
xoxo The Vixen
