By Chad Ingram

“At Christmas a bunch of friends were together thinking how could we augment the food bank?” says Diane Dawson of Gelert.

Someone mentioned more toiletry items could be useful.

“Somebody said ‘I have like 20 bags I never use’” Dawson explains.

So the group of women who’ve dubbed themselves the Bag Ladies collected purses and handbags filling them with items such as a soap toothpaste deodorant sanitary products shampoo brushes lotions and so on.

“We all stuffed the bags” Dawson said. There were 59 in all.

Along with the food bank bags were delivered to women’s shelters in Minden Lindsay and Peterborough.

“Someone suggested that someone leaving in the middle of the night might take diapers but nothing for themselves” Dawson says.

And now the Bag Ladies are it again collecting bags for both women and men as well as toiletry items to go in them.

“Everything that you might have in your purse that someone else may not be able to stock” Dawson says. “There are people out there with stuff they don’t know what do with.”

Anyone who wishes to donate items–  bags and/or toiletries – is welcome to drop them off at Wintergreen or contact Dawson at 705-286-3202.