MTSU ‘Bra Drive’ seeks clothing donations to comfort breast cancer, violence survivors, raise awareness

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Community donors can provide a little comfort to neighbors in need while also boosting the profiles of both Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month when they join Middle Tennessee State University’s "Bra Drive" underway through Tuesday, Nov. 1.

The university's June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students and the MTSU Power of ONE Office are co-sponsoring donations of comfortable, newly purchased bras — and equally comfortable T-shirts, sweatpants and sweatshirts — for clients of Rutherford County's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center.

“The center asks that bras be comfortable, such as sports bras and leisure bras, in any size, new and with the tags in place,” Anderson Center Director Maigan Wipfli said in announcing this year’s effort.

She added that the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center also needs new comfortable clothing, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants, with tags attached.

Both the bras and clothing will be provided for DVSAC guests after they’ve received forensic services or if they’re coming into the shelter without a change of clothing. All sizes are needed, and small to medium sizes are currently in shorter supply.

Donors can drop off the new clothing items during regular business hours — generally 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays — in boxes located at:

Room 330 in the Student Union,1768 MTSU Blvd.
TheStudent Health, Wellness and Recreation Center at 1848 Blue Raider Drive.
The Department of Communication Studies office in Room 233 of Jones Hall, 624 Old Main Circle.
The Alumni House, 2259 Middle Tennessee Blvd.

On-campus donors also can arrange to have their items picked up by emailing powerof1@mtsu.edu.

Off-campus visitors also are welcome to donate bras and clothing for the drive. A campus parking map is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParking, and a one-day permit is available at https://mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

Visitors can park without a permit in the university’s Rutherford Boulevard Lot and ride the Raider Xpress shuttle into campus to drop off their donations. “Last year the MTSU community donated 65 items,” Wipfli said, “and we invite you to help us reach our goal of 75 items this year!”

MTSU's June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students provides learning and personal development support services and creates on- and off-campus partnerships on female-centered topics for all students and aids adult students with families, full-time jobs and other responsibilities beyond their college education.

The Power of ONE program at MTSU works to reduce and prevent gender-based violence with events and educational workshops showing students how to step up and intervene when they see a violent situation.

For more information about the clothing donation project, contact the Anderson Center at 615-898-5812 or jacwns@mtsu.edu. To learn more about the county’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center, call 615-896-7377.

For details on more Domestic Violence Awareness Month events the Anderson Center and Power of ONE Office are hosting in October, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/jac and https://www.mtsu.edu/powerof1.

Additional WGNS News Headlines: