Purse Project returns for holiday season

A community initiative to bring purses filled with sanitary products to women in shelters across the city has returned this season.

Women often arrive at shelters with nothing but the clothes on their backs and spending $5 to $10 a month on tampons and pads is frequently a hardship.

The Purse Project, launched by staff at the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, involves getting a gently used purse, filling it with life’s necessities — which can include anything from tampons and toiletries to beauty products, gloves and hats — and dropping them off at one of a dozen locations across the city from Dec. 4 to 11.

Donations may be brought to any of the following locations:

Ottawa police stations: 474 Elgin St., 3343 St. Joseph Blvd. and 211 Huntmar Dr.;

Anglican Diocese of Ottawa at 71 Bronson Ave.;

Shoppers Drug Mart at 1469 Merivale Rd., 181 Greenbank Rd., 499 Terry Fox Dr., 3781 Strandherd Dr. and 3310 McCarthy Rd.