Medical students collecting clothes for Penelope’s Closet

Often, when someone escapes an abusive relationship and finds refuge at a shelter, they only have the clothes on their back and the shoes on their feet.

To help provide necessities for those who find themselves in such situations, students from the Whiddon College of Medicine in the Jags Against Trafficking group are collecting new and gently used clothing and footwear for children, women and men to donate to Penelope’s Closet, a local thrift store that funds Penelope House in Mobile.

Penelope House helps victims of partner violence gain social and economic independence through shelter, counseling, advocacy, and referral to community resources and agencies in Mobile, Washington, Choctaw, and Clarke counties in Alabama. The shelter can provide refuge for victims and their children when their lives are in imminent danger.

Medical students Tara Hicks and AK Porter, members of Jags Against Trafficking group, are leading the clothing drive that runs through Monday, March 3.

Drop-off bins are in:

• The medical student lounge at the Whiddon College of Medicine
• The first student room at the Mastin Professional Building on the campus of University Hospital
• The OB-GYN student workroom in CWEB on the Children’s & Women’s Hospital campus
• Office 1006 in CWEB

For more information, contact Tara Hicks at tlh1523@jagmail.southalabama.edu or AK Porter at akp2121@jagmail.southalabama.edu.