HOW MUCH ONE HANDBAG CAN MEAN

Handbag Project volunteers

The spirit of the Women Helping Women initiative that began in the Arizona Chapter of WFWP and spread from there to various other states this past year also recently reached Northern California. The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of WFWP just concluded their own project to collect gently used handbags for homeless women, which we filled with toiletries and personal items. We started collecting them in March by reaching out to our community and friends. WFWP planning committee member Liz Beurgi collected many purses from her yoga students who were so happy to do something for the homeless women. We received many donations of items to put into the purses and also purchased many other essential items.

On April 12th, Yong Sung Leal, who works at Streetsteam.org, a non-profit organization that assists homeless people in getting their lives together, came and collected the handbags in order to distribute them. Mr. Leal emphasized how much such a gift can mean to a homeless woman. Women have the hardest time living on the streets, he said, as they are very vulnerable. Such a gift can really boost their spirits giving them much needed items that they may have a hard time to find. We were very happy to be able to donate 50 handbags.