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It is about a half inch thick sheaf of bound pages and quite possibly, one of the best gifts my mother could ever give me. Translated from Hungarian to English, it is a collection of her own mother’s letters written to her and mailed from a refugee settlement in Salzburg in the late 1940’s. They are stories of family life under difficult circumstances, infused with hope and longing for an eldest daughter who had found a new life across the Atlantic. And intertwined with love and familial accounts, there were continual requests for basic goods that were unattainable in the ruins of Europe.

Antibiotics, sugar and shoes were among the expected enumerations of these letters’ requests. But one particular petition stood out for me, an item so commonplace in my life that I have never before given it a second thought. Her mother desperately needed elastic waistband material because the little children’s underwear was falling apart and she hoped to mend the articles.

This conjured a strong image in my mind that stays with me, a picture of my grandmother reaching for the mending the moment her daughter’s package arrived, conscientiously taking care of her little ones’ hidden needs. How many times have I sorted through my own growing family’s undergarments, sorting out the ones that were outgrown, still bright white and with lots of life left in them? Undergarments are not exactly a used clothing category that Goodwill makes shelf room for. And with the usual momentary guilt, I have tossed those undergarments.

Most of us think nothing of walking into a discount department store and chucking a package containing several pairs of simple undergarments into our baskets. The price is about as unexciting as the product itself, posing no hardship at the cash register. But now I am thinking that my definition of hardship is a very limited one and that there are many depths to this term that coexist in our own American communities.

After a little research, I have discovered that shelters, charities and relief organizations deeply appreciate donations of new underwear, baby diapers and adult incontinence products like adult diapers and pull-ups. It turns out that “out of sight, out of mind” applies to this particular area of clothing contributions. There is always an outstanding request for a supply of these items in unopened, new packaging at charitable organizations.

With that potent image of my grandmother’s particular request in mind, I think it would only be appropriate for me to organize a Diaper Dump or Drawer Drop. Privately, it would be in honor of that lifeline between she and her daughter. Publicly, it would raise awareness about an overlooked need in our own community, benefitting both givers and receivers.

Cotton underwear and disposable baby diaper contributions may initially appear to be the main focus of such an event but there are some other important elements to consider. The expense of both disposable baby diapers and adult diapers do not come under the umbrellas of the WIC , Medicare or food stamps programs. This often leaves an already strapped family in a deeper lurch over some basic necessities that cannot be ignored. Adult diapers and adult incontinence products may seem like an unusual component of a charity drive, but it is important to realize that adult diapers are a financial burden for many seniors living on the edge and family caregivers who already have a full plate of financial obligations.

Organizing this type of a donation event can be a lot of work but there is also a lot of community fun and spirit to be experienced. Once there is an established partnership with a charity that will be taking delivery of the results, publicizing the event is the next most important step. Posters and literature announcing the upcoming drive should be up at churches, clinics, schools and storefronts. These places all make excellent collection sites as well. A local radio station should be able to make free announcements as part of their public service and maybe even volunteer a personality to broadcast from the main collection site. Festivity offerings like a small petting zoo or rides in a firetruck can all add up to a big turnout.

If one wanted to kick things up a notch or two, in the words of a popular chef, a cocktail occasion celebrating the cause could be a ticketed event. Admission would also require the drop of donated undies or adult diapers at the door for a fun “Drop Your Drawers” evening. An evening like this has the promise of popular appeal and could easily become an annual event.

My mother, at eighteen years old and steadily paying back her trans Atlantic fare, would get off from a shift of emptying bedpans at a psychiatric hospital and pack a parcel of medicine, clothes and treats to ship back to Europe. Dutifully and lovingly tucked in among the hard earned goods, was a generous roll of elastic waistband material. It is a different time now but some unseen needs have not changed. We can certainly do something about that on our own home front.

My mother gave me a gift this year. It was a bound and translated copy of her own mother’s letters to her, written and mailed from a refugee settlement in Salzburg in the late 1940’s. These letters were accounts of family happenings back in Europe and messages of love to a daughter who had pursued hope across the Atlantic, in Canada. Impossible to ignore, there were also requests for material goods to be sent back if her daughter’s new world prosperity would at all allow; requests that were indicators of the difficult living conditions in Europe’s rubble.

Many of the requests were ones I would have typically expected, given the history of the times: antibiotics, shoes, sugar and so on. But there was a dry good mentioned that caught me off guard. It was a petition for some elastic to sew into the younger children’s underwear which was wearing out. Certainly this was a mundane essential I would never have thought of.

How many pairs of my own children’s outgrown underwear have I jettisoned that were still bright white with plenty of stretch left in them? I have always done so with a measure of guilt but underwear just isn’t the kind of clothing the local thrift shop will redistribute. This makes the picture in my mind all the more poignant: My grandmother eagerly awaiting a package that would allow her to start sewing and take care of her little ones’ hidden needs.

Simple undergarments are readily available at places like Walmart in packs of five or six, at a price that does not seem like much of a hardship. But then that is not keeping in mind the various levels of hardship that can exist in our American communities. Our society has its barriers and veneers that keep a lot of people’s struggles below the average citizen’s radar. Underwear may not be as uncommon a concern as first thought.

I put some cursory research into the subject and have discovered that donations of new underwear and both baby diapers and adult diapers, are welcomed by shelters and charities. It seems I am not the only one who applies the “out of sight, out of mind” phenomenon to this clothing donation category. Charitable organizations always have a need for a supply of these items.

With that potent image of my grandmother’s particular request in mind, I think it would only be appropriate for me to organize a Diaper Dump or Drawer Drop. Privately, it would be in honor of that lifeline between she and her daughter. Publicly, it would raise awareness about an overlooked need in our own community, benefitting both givers and receivers.

Cotton underwear and disposable baby diaper contributions may initially appear to be the main focus of such an event but there are some other important elements to consider. The expense of both disposable baby diapers and adult diapers do not come under the umbrellas of the WIC , Medicare or food stamps programs. This often leaves an already strapped family in a deeper lurch over some basic necessities that cannot be ignored. Adult diapers and adult incontinence products may seem like an unusual component of a charity drive, but it is important to realize that adult diapers are a financial burden for many seniors living on the edge and family caregivers who already have a full plate of financial obligations.

The rules of organizing a Diaper Drive or Drawer Drop are open to possibility and imagination. After entering a partnership with a charity for the event, it is important to focus on publicity. Churches, fire departments, schools, clinics are all among the myriad places to approach about placing posters and possibly being drop off locations. A local radio station can announce the drive in its public service messages, maybe even send a local radio personality down to broadcast from your central collection location. Outdoor activities can feature as much entertainment volunteerism as you can muster, from balloon animal making to a chili cook-off.

If a quieter and more sophisticated event is more appealing to some crowds, a ticketed evening of wine and chocolate may be in order, requiring guests to also drop off of underwear and adult diapers to get in the door. Such a “Drop Your Drawers” evening has potential for many an annual repeat.

My mother, as an eighteen year old girl working overtime shifts of emptying bedpans and hauling soiled linens, packed many parcels with footwear, clothing and medicine for her far away loved ones. A roll of elastic waistband material was dutifully and carefully tucked into one such package. That was a different era. Although thankfully not on the same scale, there are some similar needs today on our own home front and we can certainly tackle an underwear drive.