In June, 2009 I was going to have a birthday that ended in a zero, and I decided to have a big party to celebrate. I wanted to ask for alternative birthday gifts.  Around the same, while I was cleaning out my dresser, drawer by drawer, I came to my underwear drawer and thought, "Well, nobody is going to want anything from in here." Then it occurred to me, where DO people who are in need get their underwear from?  Obviously, it should be new, and not someone's hand-me-downs.  (That's just creepy and wrong.)  That was when I decided to have an underwear drive for my birthday party!  

 

People came walking in to my back yard with underoos and thongs and tighty whiteys and bras... it was awesome and hilarious!  Afterwards, I loaded up our 395 pairs of underpants  and drove over to the Healing Center to "drop our drawers."  It was so fun, and unexpectedly emotional!  After that, I continued to host Underpants Drives at various times, for different charities or needs that came about.  

 

It became obvious that I couldn't do all of this by myself, so we gathered a team of business leaders and high school students to figure out next steps.  In Spring of 2022, UNDERPANTS FOR ALL became an official non-profit organization!  It's really a matter of restoring dignity to people who are in a vulnerable stage of their life in a way that most of us don't really think about.   I really do think that it's important work.  Plus, you get to say the word "butt" a lot... and that's fun too!