Media Library
Undie Sunday/Undie Monday
The Springfield Rescue Mission provides safe shelter to hundreds of men each year in our Emergency Shelter, and we’d like to be able to provide each man with a new pair of underwear, socks and t-shirt! We also reach out to homeless and near-homeless men, women and children with new underwear, socks and t-shirts, used clothing, coats and shoes in our Give Away Center. As the weather starts getting colder, donating a new set of underclothing is an easy way to show the love of Christ to someone who has not had a clean pair of undergarments for months. Robin Gobeille at 413-732-0808 x 237, rgobeille@springfieldrescuemission.org.
Local individuals, businesses and churches have participated in Undie Sunday/Undie Monday by collecting new items of underclothing to the Rescue Mission for distribution to the homeless. This basic necessity is often overlooked.
Where to bring donations: Springfield Rescue Mission, 10 Mill Street, Springfield, MA. Monday – Saturday, 8am-6pm.
When to collect items: October 1-31. Please bring donations to the Rescue Mission by November 10.
What we need: NEW T-shirts, underwear and socks for men, women, and children.
How Undie Sunday/Undie Monday started:
In 1987 a gentleman came through our doors asking if we knew of a place he could take a shower. We knew of the man’s need before he saw him from the unpleasant smell wafting down the hall. The man was visibly hungry and very dirty, with dirty rags for clothes. He needed a shower and something nourishing to eat.
We gave him toiletries and directed him to the showers. While he was showering, we took his rags and threw them away. We placed new underwear, a t-shirt and socks on the chair outside the shower as well as gently used, clean clothing. He appeared from the wash room looking like a new man.
We gave him a big helping of food and talked to him for a while. You see, this homeless man was once a local attorney who lost everything to drinking – all his possessions and his family. Mingled in with his story, he kept telling us over and over how thankful he was for his new underwear. We asked if he needed a place to stay for the night and he declined. After he finished eating, he left and we never saw him again.
A couple of years later our Executive Director received a letter with a donation check inside. It was from our homeless friend. He explained that by the grace of God he ended up in the Midwest and pull his life back together. He never forgot that act of compassion and kindness he received here at the Springfield Rescue Mission and wanted to pay that forward to others who had lost their way. He re-established a law firm and received the settlement check from a case. He sent the money to the Springfield Rescue Mission with explicit instructions to use it to buy new underwear for people who come to us off the streets. It made such a big difference in his life and he knew it would do the same for others.
The Springfield Rescue Mission helps restore dignity and hope to the lost.
