Starting April 1, Soroptimist International of Bend (SI Bend) began placing their collection Bra Boxes around town at participating retail businesses to help bring awareness to the fight against international human trafficking. These garments will help create a pathway to a better life for a woman rescued from the sex slave trade in Africa and Latin America. SI Bend partners with Free the Girls (www.FreeTheGirls.org), a nonprofit organization, to send the collected bras to these locations.
SI Bend’s outreach program Bras from Bend is a testament to the Soroptimist mission Best for Women. The Bras project is made of women in Central Oregon helping other women half way around the world. The simple act of a donation of a gently used (or new) bra will help a woman become an entrepreneur who sells these garments thus empowering her to create a better life for herself and family.
Bras may seem an ordinary item for women of Central Oregon. To women of sub-Sahara Africa and in some countries of Latin America, they are a luxury item, which improve lives socially and economically.
Bras from Bend runs annually only during April. Bra Boxes are at the following locations in Bend.
Bella Studio
2150 NE Studio Road
The Cutting Club
1335 NW Galveston
Deschutes Children’s Foundation — East Bend Campus
2125 NE Daggett Lane
The Little Hair Shoppe
2669 NE Twin Knolls Drive
Prosthetics by Lynda
345 NE Norton
QuiltWorks
926 NE Greenwood
Snap Fitness
19550 Amber Meadow Drive
Snap Fitness
2753 NW Lolo
Therapeutic Associates
2200 NE Neff, #220 (in The Center)
(Photo above | Cascade Business News)
