What we do.
Julie’s Purse Project is a 501c3 public charity that collects new and gently used purses and essential items to fill the purses. Each purse also contains a note that says, “I care about your situation. I wish you peace, safety and the kindness of strangers.” The purses are then donated to local organizations that assist homeless women, domestic violence and sex trafficking survivors.
How it started.
Julie’s Purse Project is a donation-based project that I started in the fall of 2015. Being a new mom and using diaper bags more and more I noticed that I had an abundance of old purses I was no longer using and thought “there must be a way to re-purpose these purses while helping those in need in our local community.” I don’t just collect and donate purses; I fill them to the brim with essential items that recipients would want in their purse if they were starting over with nothing or homeless. I then donate them to local organizations that assist victims of sex trafficking, domestic violence and homeless women in the Northern California area. I started in Sacramento County and have since expanded to Placer, Butte, Yuba, El Dorado, and Sonoma Counties.
The mission.
My mission is to give the women who receive one of the purses a boost of confidence, to empower them, and to let them know that someone cares. When she goes to her next job interview I want her to be able to carry in her new Coach purse as opposed to a tattered backpack. Inside each purse I include a small note that says “I care about your situation. I wish you peace, safety and the kindness of strangers.”
