In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness month, a local man kicked off a fundraiser to collect bags to donate to the South Plains Women’s Protective Services.
“I noticed that there were trash bags that women put their stuff in and it never occurred to me that it was something important,” Carry with Respect Founder Johnson Fung said.
Fung said with his experience working with the local shelter, he noticed a need that is often overlooked for women trying to escape a dangerous situation.
“My message is to show them there’s people who care about them,” Fung said. “We want to help them not be a victim a second time because of circumstances. We want to able to bring them a sense of dignity and respect that they are treated as human beings. I mean they are not trash to be tossed around.”
“They’re moving around, having to come to a shelter situation and kind of being taken out of their comfort zone in their own lives and coming to a shelter situation and that can be kind of nerve-wrecking and stressful and so that could give them tools almost in a tangible way to start rebuilding lives,” Women’s Protective Services Administrator Bill Holtzclaw said.
They said they’re collecting all types of bags: suitcases, purses, and backpacks.
Anyone looking to donate can drop off their items at the Lubbock Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Saturdays from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., all year long.
Holtzclaw said you can contact him at bholtzclaw@wpslbk.org or online at http://www.wpslubbock.org/ for more information about the South Plains Women’s Protective Services.
