The Vale of Llangollen Rotary has installed another bra bank. This time in the SPAR in Chirk for the collection of old, unwanted or ill-fitting bras in and around Chirk. This is one of its Environmental and International projects! At the same time supporting one of the UK Breast Cancer charities.

Mike Lade of The Vale of Llangollen Rotary said, ” At the Spar  in Chirk, you will find the pink Against Breast Cancer Bra Banks bin by the tills where the bras can be deposited. It does not matter what condition the bra is in – we still want it but laundered is good please. This initiative also keeps these valuable textiles out of land fill, helps support Against Breast Cancer and helps families in Africa!

“When you drop a bra in one of our Bra Banks, your ill-fitting or unloved bras will be whisked away to start a new life on the other side of the world. Here they are used to support small businesses for African women to support their families by selling the bras in the markets in places such as Togo, Ghana and Kenya.

“Bras are impossibly expensive to make and buy in places like Africa. One of the unexpected gains of the initiative, now that these bras are affordable in town markets, more women are now wearing bras and sexual assault has gone down!

“Many of the bras are resalable as they are. Some are taken apart by the African women and remade as cottage industries. The ones that are not reusable in any way are broken down and recycled as cotton waste and metal. Everyone is a winner.”

Against Breast Cancer have teamed up with a UK recycling company who help small businesses in Africa. The recycling company are donating £700 to cancer research for every tonne of bras collected, that’s only 9,000 bras! With over 30 million women in the UK you could really help make a difference!

The Vale of Llangollen Rotary is ready to welcome individuals and couples of 18+ from the local community who want to be “people of action”.  We normally meet face-to-face, at the Liberty Tavern, 20 Market Street, Llangollen on Monday evenings at 7.30pm and meet in the bar. Alternatively, people can join the meeting from wherever they are via our Zoom account connection.

For more information on what their new style of Rotary has to offer contact Mike Lade on 07803 038858, valeofllangollenrotary@gmail.com or see www.valeofllangollenrotary.com.

Tanya Rogers and Cassandra Windsor.