FILLING THE WORLD WITH LOVE, ONE HANDBAG AT A TIME

"Love cannot remain by itself - it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service... All works of love are works of peace." Mother Teresa

In 2017, the WFWP Georgia Chapter was inspired to initiate The Handbag Project after hearing the success stories from other regions (read more here). The concept was simple: ask women to donate gently used purses, fill them with personal items and donate them to a local women’s shelter.

We had already established contact with “The Children’s Restoration Network,” a non-profit that has served homeless children and mothers in Georgia since 1993, and chose to partner with them for this project. With 134 shelters in 19 counties, the organization has a wide reach and a vision to enable children and their mothers to break the cycle of homelessness.

The response from both those donating the purses and the receiving organization was so enthusiastic that we decided to organize another one in 2018. By advertising at our WFWP events, we were able to collect some purses over time. However, the largest number of donated purses came through a new strategy: during the months of November and December, we placed a box with an explanation of the project at a yoga studio that I attend regularly.

Many women were so happy to donate their handbags to a worthy cause. In fact, we received several bags filled with travel size shampoo, conditioner and hand lotion. And some of the women lovingly filled the purses with personal items. 

In the end, we were able to fill and donate over 80 purses—almost double the amount from the previous year. Due to holiday programs organized at the shelters, they requested that we drop them off in March. Ashley, the volunteer who received the purses, expressed her appreciation and said that will be a wonderful gift for the women they serve.