Going commando isn’t for everyone. Local nonprofit Underpants For All’s got us covered. Founder Christine Martin has made it her life’s mission to make sure each glute has equal coverage, collecting underpants of all shapes, colors and sizes to give to those in need. Inspiration struck during the mundane task of cleaning out her closet before her fortieth birthday.
“I was pulling together some donations that I wanted to give to a local charity,” Martin says. “When I opened a drawer and saw underpants, I slammed the drawer thinking, ‘No, we don't donate that.’ It immediately spurred the thought, ‘If people need my sweaters, jeans and shoes…they also need underpants. So where are they going to get them?’”
This lightbulb moment galvanized Martin into action, and she asked her friends to bring new underwear to her birthday party instead of a personal gift—a switch her party guests embraced.
“Oh my goodness! They loved it,” she says. “People brought everything from granny panties to thongs to little kids’ Underoos.”
Martin’s family joined in.
“My kids decorated a collection box,” she says, “and my next-door neighbor put together a scrapbooking spread with little cutouts of underwear to capture the fun, too.”
The event quickly took on deeper meaning when Martin and her family dropped off 395 pairs of undergarments to a local charity.
“We all love tapping into that inner-sixth grader who can’t say the word underpants without giggling, but when you pull up with new underwear and see the thrill on workers’ faces, that’s when things changed…when I truly understood that what we're doing is providing dignity…and in a way that people don't normally ask for, or receive, or might not even be able to articulate,” Martin explains.
“When I think of where these items are going, I picture someone who is in a low spot of their life,” she adds. “Maybe today's the day they want to start over. If they’re trying to get into that ‘today's going to be a better day’ mindset, you don't want to start by putting on yesterday's underpants.”
More than ten years passed before Martin formalized Underpants For All with the help of Badin High School. She reached out to them, aware of their service requirements.
“I said, ‘Hey, I've got this crazy idea for a nonprofit, and how would you feel if I get some students involved?’” she shares.
She and the students learned together, bringing Underpants For All from an idea to full nonprofit status.
“Students are fearless, creative and energetic,” she shares. “If I can allow these kids to practice [the skill of service], then maybe they get their own amazing ideas for how they want to serve this world.”
Last December, Martin visited Reach Out Lakota, a local food and clothing pantry, and was troubled with the lack of resources in her own neighborhood.
“How Reach Out Lakota serves depends on their inventory at the moment,” Martin explains. “At the time, clients could only receive one pair of new underpants a month because that’s all Reach Out Lakota could supply.”
Martin consulted her co-founders and board of directors—her husband Patrick Martin and best friend Margaret Burgdorf—and they decided to partner monthly with Reach Out Lakota to supply undergarments. Underpants For All has also made donations to New Life Mission, Pathway to Hope, Hope’s Closet, Lydia’s House and Anthem House Church during the holidays when they serve meals to the homeless. Nationally, they’ve collaborated with the Salvation Army, donating underwear during Oklahoma tornadoes and Florida hurricanes. Internationally, they’ve supported Project Mañana, which aids the impoverished in the Dominican Republic.
Martin encourages everyone to listen to those inner voices and lean into them when it comes to making a difference globally.
“We are all created for service, and we're all called to serve in different ways,” she says.
The next time you’re updating your wardrobe, remember that even the simplest donation can provide dignity and hope. Don’t get caught with your pants down—support the cause by shopping their Amazon wish list or donating directly at UnderpantsForAll.org.