An RV carrying 30,000 pairs of men’s underwear for homeless shelters across the country is making its first stop in Vancouver to distribute the much-needed unmentionables to the Union Gospel Mission.
The cross-Canada underwear drive — called Got Ginch — was started last year by Calgarians Robb Price and Brent King, who are hand-delivering underpants to 10 shelters from Vancouver to Halifax starting on Friday.
“If you ask people who run the shelters … underwear is one of the first items people look for when they come in,” said Price.
“The first step to recovery for many of these people is to rebuild dignity and self-esteem. A clean pair of underwear is helpful in that process.”
He added that underwear is often hard to come by at shelters because they don’t accept used pairs, and people often feel uncomfortable donating new ones.
“We’ve focused on (donating to) men only,” Price said. “A couple of guys driving across the country with a van full of women’s underwear is creepy. If we find someone willing to take on that (female) challenge, we’d definitely help them with that.”
The underwear and 14-day trip are funded through donations.
“It’s exciting … to see places I haven’t been before,” said Price. “And it’s a bit of a personal challenge to spend that much time behind the wheel.”
