‘Bra Ball’ to benefit women in chemical dependency treatment

You’ve got to give Sarah Jakubek, manager of the Cloquet Curves women’s exercise center, credit for originality. At the beginning of this month, Jakubek launched what she hopes will be an annual “Bra Ball” event to collect undergarments for women being treated for chemical dependency at the Liberalis C.A.R.E. Center in Carlton.

“I recently had the opportunity to give a wonderful woman a bra that I no longer wore,” explained Jakubek. “She has been down on her luck and the last two years have been very difficult for her – she was divorced, lost her home, finances and job and became an alcoholic.”
Sarah Jakukbek of Curves in Cloquet holds up the beginnings of a “Bra Ball” - part of a campaign to collect bras to donate to the women of the Liberalis chemical dependency program in Carlton. Collection efforts will be ongoing through Oct. 31.

n an effort to help the woman get back on her feet again, Jakubek first gave her some used summer clothing which helped heighten her self image and esteem, but while trying them on, the woman commented, “If I had a better bra it would make me feel better – period.” It turned out the woman owned only one bra – a stretched-out sports bra. Jakubek dug through her own lingerie drawer and found three bras she no longer wore to give to the woman, who was about the same size.

“She was beyond excited!” said Jakubek. “Her posture was better, she looked slimmer and she even looked younger.”

That’s what gave Jakubek the idea of sponsoring a bra collection project at Curves from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31, to be donated in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month to the women at Liberalis.

“The women who go there are often in desperate need of bras since they frequently come in with nothing but the clothes on their backs – sometimes only a hospital gown,” explained Jakubek. “Also, since these women are in recovery for substance abuse and go through a lot of weight loss and gain in the process, the bras they have may no longer fit.”

Members at Curves have already contributed some 84 new and “gently used” clean bras during the first week of the project, all of which Jakubek is hooking together and making into a “bra ball” to present to the Liberalis program at the end of the time period. The public is invited to bring in contributions as well to Curves, 1111 Cloquet Ave., Cloquet.

“Let’s give out as much support as we can,” said Jakubek, “ – emotionally as well as literally!”