Note: We are transitioning from this blog to our own website.
For current information, check us out at:
www.Support1000.org
If you work with women who are in need of bras, contact Support1000:
info@support1000.org
We've collected thousands of bras and will donate bras to your organization and support YOU in making a difference for others.
Quick update
Support1000 NFP finds itself at a critical point: transitioning from the casual efforts of 1 person to the focused commitment of a team, living into a vision that gets clearer each day.
The vision has gone beyond bras. With each reply we get from the from the organizations that we donate to, and the comments from people who donate to Support1000, dignity is the clear theme. Thus, Support1000 is a dignity project more than a bra project.
I almost forgot. The CBS interview that aired last week. Harry Porterfield created a wonderful story for his long-running series:
Someone You Should Know. Thank you, Harry!
Finally, here are comments from an organization that Support1000 sent bras to. They provide interviewing clothes to their clients.
"I received the bras on Wednesday. They are beautiful! We had a difficult to fit client yesterday--she tried the 46 DD that I had literally just walked in. She had never had a correctly fitting bra. She was amazed! Thank you for your generosity . Your donation has already helped one client but will help, of course, many more."
Support1000 NFP is officially a 501(c)3 Organization
YAYYY! The letter arrived from the IRS last week:
Support1000 NFP is now a recognized non-profit, tax-exempt organization. This will allow us to to do much more to provide bras to women who otherwise don't have the quality and dignity available to them.
Support1000 is also taking on many transitions. We've been quiet for a while; hence, this blog hasn't had many updates recently, but we haven't been inactive. We're building a website, reviewing and creating processes to increase efficiency, planning relocation to a bigger space, and building teams.
Finally, we get emails asking, "are you still accepting bras." The answer: heck yeah! Support1000 is going to be around forever!
Because we've gotten bigger than ever expected, financial donations are needed. Until recently, Support1000 was personally funded and limited to the Chicago area. With success and attention, we've satisfied needs far beyond Chicago. Postage costs, costs of supplies, etc. have exploded. We'll soon need to move out of my home and into a rented (or donated) workspace. Your financial donation would help cover the operating costs of generating the small miracles that are associated with quality well-fitting bras for the women and organizations who are in need.
Financial donations can be done through PayPal at:
Bras and financial donations made payable to Support1000 may be mailed to:
Oz du Soleil
Support1000
PO Box 412406
Chicago, IL 60641
Thank you all!
Oz du Soleil, Founder and Executive Director
The past 2 months have been CRAZAY!!
The last 2 months have been awesome!More bras have been sent out, and more have come in. With each incoming donation we see just how generous and caring people can be for others.
Support1000 sent bras to St. Taylor's Wrap Around (San Diego, CA). One of the many great things they do is help women who've recently been released from prison. The women are released with nearly nothing, and theirs is a story I've heard so many times: underwear--especially bras--is difficult to find amidst the vast network of social services.
Through the donations of retailers and the general public, Support1000 was able to send 50 bras to Support St. Taylor's. This is just one example of the difference that has been made.
More media attentionAn affiliate of MSNBC,
www.thegrio.com, contacted
Support1000 for an interview and a fantastic article was published. Journalist Bonnie Davis really captured the world of
Support1000 and its inspiration.
Finally, check out this
video interview hosted by Lee Owens and shot by videographer Nick Meriage.
Stay tuned for exciting announcements in 2010 and continue to be in touch if you need donations for your organization or would like to make a donation.
Love and Happy Holidays,
Oz
Organizations that have received Support1000 donations
Apna Ghar (Chicago)
Breakthrough Urban Mission (Chicago)
buildOn (an organization that sends supplies and necessities to Mali)
Atlanta Union Mission (Atlanta, GA)
PADS SW Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Poised for Success (Lombard, IL)
Cornerstone Outreach (Chicago)
Westside Assoc for Community Action (Chicago)
Arlington Life Shelter (Arlington, TX)
St. Taylor's Wrap-Around (San Diego, CA)
Friedman Place (residential facility for the blind and visually-impaired, Chicago)
Annapolis Lighthouse (Annapolis, MD)
Community Action Family Shelter (Hillsboro, OR)
Leanna's Closet (Greeley, CO)
Catholic Charities (Waukegan, IL)
Stand Up for Kids (Wilmette, IL)
Women's Shelter (Longmont, CO)
New Jerusalem Church (Springfield, IL)
PADS North Chicago (Homeless shelter in North Chicago, IL)
Pineridge Reservation (Sioux Reservation, SD)
IMAGINE Me Foundation (Chicago)
St. Mark Church (Chicago)
New Beginnings (Pittsburgh, PA)
St. Francis High School (Sioux Reservation, SD)
Support1000 NFP is moving up!
Support1000 has finally moved out of my livingroom and into a space where we can work, spread out and get organized.
For a while we've been a bit quiet because Support1000 expanded beyond the livingroom. Hence, getting donations out was rough because distribution wasn't so easy in a tight space. Now, we've changed our location and can get donations in and out more efficiently.
Support1000 NFP thanks Uline for the 80 bins they donated. Not only do we have space, we've got stackable bins (a bin for each bra size) rather than boxes that we have to move around and sift through.
Thanks to the friends who came by Saturday and donated time to Support1000's organization.
ONWARD!!!!!!
Support1000 + Chicago Tribune
Friday, 2OCT09, an article about
Support1000 was published in the Chicago Tribune. Journalist Dawn Reiss wrote a wonderful article that captures the start, success and impact Support1000 has made in this typically un-noticed area of need.
Lots of emails have poured in from generous people who want to make a difference. Please, if you would like to make a donation to Support1000, contact me at:
Support1000bras@gmail.comOr ship your donation to:
Oz du Soleil
Support1000
PO Box 412406
Chicago, IL 60641I can't express enough appreciation for the many people who've helped Support1000 make a difference for those organizations that serve women who are in need.
Thank you!
Letters of appreciation
To Support1000,
The students at Myra Bradwell are grateful to accept the donation from your organization. The items are being distributed to young ladies in addition to other clothing items. This recent donation has increased our capacity to get clothing to needy families at our school. We appreciate your support.
Sincerely Yours,
M. Cosey
Thank you very much for the donation of bras. I work with women that stay at homeless shelters because they have been struggling through domestic violence. The bras will be given to these women. When I saw your post on Craigslist I e-mailed you immediately. Affording a bra is a luxury when there is very little money.
Respectfully,
P. Gomez
Support1000 moves beyond its original goals!
3 weeks ago, 28MAR09, Support1000 donated the 1000th bra!!!
Again, many thanks to the people who've donated, helped inventory, packed & unpacked boxes, etc. You've helped improve the lives of HUNDREDS of women in Illinois, South Dakota and Colorado; in emergency shelters, high schools, churches, transitional housing, a foundation for at-risk girls, and a residential facility for the blind and visually-impaired.
You have helped fulfill a need that was much larger than ever was expected.
Now what?
Support1000 came into existence to collect and donate 1000 bras and make a difference for hundreds of women who were in need of a decent bra. We've collected 3000 bras, donated 1000 and that means Support1000 is complete. Done! No Mas.
We step into new territory now. We begin to explore permanence, a new name, a new mission, etc. What that looks like, we don't know yet. But we're looking to network and partner with other charitable and non-profit organizations.
You are invited to give feedback and advice or, ask questions of us. Thus, your help is still sought and valued.
And please, if you have bras to donate send them our way. If you need bras donated to your organization, please be in touch!
3 comments:
That is good to hear of the new binds. and the re-location to serve your production needs! Awesome !
I look forward to keep in touch and reading what is going on next with Support1000 project.
Kimberly Garner
Congradulations on getting your 501(c)(3) approval. Now that you are a non-profit and I assume you also have a tax ID number from the IRS, you should consider applying for a grant to help fund you cause. There are alot of grant writing organizations out there. More bad ones then good one, so be careful.
Thanks Kimberly and BestWicklessCandles
We're looking into applying for grants. However, one thing we've discovered is that most grants consider organizations that have been around a little longer than we have.
Thus, we're asking the public to consider making tax-deductible monetary donations so that we can be around and ensure that the women who need bras are given that dignity associated with a quality well-fitting bra.
The organizations we work with are helping women who are often starting life anew (interviewing for jobs, victims of domestic violence, etc.) and bras are extremely hard to find.
We recently sent 75 bras to a crisis center in Illinois. Shipping those bras cost $15 in addition to the box and tape. Thus, a small donation can go a long way in delivering dignity ... because every women deserves support.
Tax-deductible donations can be sent to
PO Box 412406
Chicago, IL 60641
Made payable to: Support1000 NFP
(A donation receipt will follow soon after)
Thank you,
Oz
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