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Each fall, the BIA’s Professional Women in Building (PWB) Council takes its mission of service beyond the jobsite and into the community, one bra at a time.

Now in its fifth year, the “I Support the Girls” drive collects new and gently used bras, new underwear, and feminine hygiene products to support women and girls in need across Central Ohio. Donations are distributed through the Free Store on Parsons Avenue, which hosts an annual Bra Day where women can select what they need at no cost.

“It’s a very humbling experience,” said Ashley Casuccio, PWB Chair and organizer of the drive. “You’re making somebody’s day in a way that you just don’t know is needed.”

Ashley helped bring the initiative to the BIA to give the PWB Council a direct way to support women and girls, from providing bras to assembling “period packs” for students.

Over the past five years, PWB has collected:

  • more than 1,000 bras
  • 500 pairs of underwear
  • 500 makeup bags
  • over 5,000 feminine hygiene products

One year, members even filled a 30-cubic-foot refrigerator box with donations!

“This year, we have 15 BIA member companies participating in the drive,” Ashley said. “Our members have committed to filling 25 hot pink totes with donations. I hand them out at meetings … One company even took five totes and said, ‘We’ve got this.’”

All donations should be dropped off by October 23 at Custom Distributors, where PWB members will gather to count, sort, and prepare items for the Free Store’s Bra Day on November 6.

Beyond the collection drive itself, Ashley said the project reflects what makes PWB and the BIA community so special:

“We talk a lot about giving back to the community, and this is such a tangible way to do that,” she said. “We’re proud to do it again — it really makes a difference.”

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