From the Memorial Athletic Convocation Center to the Women’s Center, Bra Recycling Drive bins are popping up all around campus.Â
This year marks the twelfth year the university’s Office of Sustainability, Women’s Center, Employee Wellness and Health Promotion, Kent State of Well Being and Kent State University Athletics have partnered together to continue the Bra Recycling Drive.
Madison Massey, the coordinator of Employee Wellness and Health, said the Bra Recycling Drive, which accepts new bras or ones in good condition, attracts a lot of attention as people enjoy donating clothes.
“This [recycling drive] is a big one, especially during the month of October for breast cancer awareness,” she said.
Melanie Knowles, the university’s sustainability manager, said the new bras and the ones in good condition will be donated to the Portage County Clothing Center and be given to the community for free.
While the more worn-out bras will be sent to The Bra Recyclers and will be recycled into wiper cloths to keep textiles out of landfills, she said.
Donation bins can be found in places like the M.A.C.C. as those places are frequented often by members of the Kent community, allowing them the opportunity to donate to the drive, too, Knowles said.
“If anybody is coming for a game, they can drop off [bras] in the lobby there,” she said.
Last year, the drive collected over 300 bras, which was an increase from 2022, when the center collected over 200 bras. From those over 300 bras, about 100 of them were recycled while the remaining 200 were donated, Knowles said.
“I think we tend to grow from year to year,” she said. “I think last year was the first year that the M.A.C.C. hosted a bin, so hopefully we’ll see even more [donations] this year.”
Outside of the Bra Recycling Drive, there will be a mobile mammogram unit from InnovaCare parked in the parking lot of Heer Hall from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 for employees, not including student ones, to get a mammogram screening, Massey said.
“We’ve found that it’s super convenient for our employees; they don’t have to make a doctor’s appointment, drive to their doctor,” she said. “They’re able to do it right here on campus.”
The mobile mammogram tends to be booked every year, including this year. However, Employee Health and Wellness does offer a waitlist in case there’s last minute cancellation as Massey said mammograms are an important part of women’s health.
“I think it’s important to always have this resource, to always hold this because it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is a preventive screening that women of all ages will need at some point,” she said.Â
Mammogram screening is viewed as a form of preventative care as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discovered regular screenings can detect breast cancer in its early and treatable stages. Mammogram screenings also lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.
The screening process does not end after the mobile mammogram is completed as Massey said InnovaCare follows up with all employees about their results.
In addition to the mammogram screening, Hippie Fox Rocks, a metaphysical store in Acorn Alley, hosted a Period Poverty Donation Drive in collaboration with the Women’s Center during the month of Sept.
This drive brought awareness on how the price of period products can put a strain on some wallets as well as how periods should not be a stigmatized topic but discussed more regularly.
These types of drives have not only provided bras and period products to those in need, but also offered a sense of community and wellness to those donating, Massey said.
“When you’re donating, do something good, it makes you feel good but it’s also making other people feel good by donating things,” she said. “That’s why we do the clothing drives, bra drives because it drives that side of wellness.”