Zonta Clubs join in effort to Free the Girls
Zonta Clubs across Niagara are working together on a colourful campaign dedicated to empowering survivors of human trafficking.
When Judy Kramer first walked into the Zonta Club of
Fort Erie area meeting and dropped a bundle of brightly coloured bras on the table, her fellow club members didn’t know what to think.
“There were all of these bras splayed across the table, and I thought, ‘Oh no, what are getting ourselves into,’” recalled club member Ethel Baer.
Despite her unorthodox pitch, Kramer was able to convince the seven-member club to participate in a campaign for Free the Girls, a nonprofit organization from the United States that provides job opportunities for survivors of sex trafficking in developing countries.
“We’re a small group, but we’re mighty,” said Baer.
Club members would collect gently used bras, which are then shipped to developing countries where women in the program are able to start their own small businesses selling the bras locally.
“It’s a concept that seems so simple: we all have extra bras, why not donate them and allow someone a new start?” said Kramer, president of the Fort Erie area Zonta Club, who first heard about the campaign when she saw a club in the United States holding a bra drive.
Kramer reached out to other Zonta Clubs in the region, and soon clubs in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines were also collecting bras.
“It’s easy to do and it’s fun,” said Kramer, adding that the people in her club had fun with it. Some reached out to their book clubs to get donations; others held bra parties where donations were collected.
Maria Aliberti set up a donation bin at the Port Colborne Country Club, where she’s a member.
While Free the Girls operates out of the United States, Kramer said they were happy to find a company locally that was also doing a collection drive.
Triumph, a lingerie store in the Outlet Collection at Niagara in Niagara-on-the-Lake, had been running a campaign where people were encouraged to shop for a cause. Anyone donating a gently used bra at the Niagara-on-theLake or its Vaughan Mills location would be able to get 25 per cent off their purchase during the Nov. 8 to 18 promotion. All donations are to be sent to Free the Girls at the end of the month.
Assistant store manager Naasson Huyler said that people can continue to drop donations off there through the end of November, and while the shop for a cause sale may be over, there will be other in-store specials.
“We’ve had a really good response,” he said, adding that more and more people are coming in with their used bras.
While it’s only the first year the Zonta Clubs have done this campaign, they were able to collect upwards of 250 bras.
For more information on Free the Girls, visit Freethegirls.org.