Underwear drive stops in nation's capital
Homeless shelters say "ginch" at the top of the wish list
Two men are driving across Canada delivering clean men's underwear to homeless shelters.
Robb Price and Brent King are handing out 35,000 pairs of men's underwear, or "ginch," to 10 different shelters as part of their GotGinch program.
The two men, who started in Vancouver six days ago, parked their trailer outside the Ottawa Mission Monday morning and dropped off 3,500 pairs for those in need.
The big question: Why underwear? Price said homeless shelters constantly told them underwear is at the top of their wish lists.
"Everybody gets laughs when you say underwear," Price said, "It's something people don't often think of donating and it's something you can't donate used."
Boxers or briefs?
Ottawa was the cross-country tour's eighth stop before heading to Montreal Monday afternoon. The trip will end in Halifax.
The underwear was made under the two men's own brand. But before making the "ginch," they had to ask shelters: boxers or briefs?
The small survey in Calgary told them briefs were an overwhelming favourite for shelter patrons.
"If you're on the street and you have $10 to your name, odds are you're not going to spend that on underwear. You're probably going to buy a meal," Price added.
GotGinch is part of a larger effort called Delivergood.org, which matches charities or non-profit organizations with people or companies that can help supply needed products.