‘Dignity Drive‘ helps shelters across Mecklenburg County

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina woman is using her time and money to help tackle homelessness in her community.

Tracy Grant bought and collected more than 200 pairs of underwear for the homeless women in Mecklenburg County. She laid them out at the Salvation Army Center of Hope in Charlotte as part of their “Dignity Drive” while explaining why she chose these items.

“We don’t think about it, but underwear is essential to women for one thing. It’s part of good health, part of good hygiene,” Grant said.

She said, it’s not something most people think to donate, but can make a big difference. “I think having clean underwear is just what helps boost their self-confidence, and no one should have to go without,” Grant said.

Along with underwear, Tracy has dozens of individually packaged hygiene products, including sanitary napkins and body wipes.

It’s not just the women’s shelter. Grant also dropped off over 250 dozen pairs of socks at the Roof Above Howard Levine Men’s Shelter just weeks prior. It’s another item that’s rarely donated, Grant said, but one that’s important.

“Some people like to sleep in socks, and your feet are one of the most important things on your body. So we need to take care of our feet,” Grant said.

She explained these things could help people feel dignified while they find housing and eventually a job and a home.

“I’ve had a lot of people I know that have had success,” Grant said. “So I know it works. It just takes time. It just takes patience. It just takes giving. It just takes conversations, and it just takes grace.”

The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte Area commander Major Andrew Wiley says he sees the change through these acts of kindness.

“We’ve just in the last two weeks had two of our residents who have secured jobs,” he said. “Nobody’s thinking about the things that we’re seeing here today. And so this is incredibly exciting for me to see an individual who saw a need and was willing to step up and do something about it, and a need that many times is forgotten.”

After realizing the great need in the community, Grant has decided to make her “Dignity Drive” a quarterly one to help shelters across Mecklenburg County.

“We can all be a servant. We can all give back, whether it’s your time, whether it’s your resources. No matter what it is, I think that we all have something to give to someone else,” Grant said.

Grant’s next donation collection will be in November. If you’d like to help, you can drop off donations at the Salvation Army Center of Hope at 534 Spratt Street in Charlotte.