Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Zeitler.
Hi Sarah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2024, I went to donate several bras only to learn that most local thrift and charity shops won’t accept them. I was frustrated because I knew they could help someone else. I discovered I Support the Girls online via an old-fashioned Google search and decided to get involved, which eventually led me to take on a leadership role as the Lancaster County affiliate.
What began with bras has grown into a much broader effort providing bras, period, and hygiene products to women and teens throughout Lancaster. In fact, we are slowly expanding to support Berks and York counties as well.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges has been growing our capacity while balancing my 9-5 job. Plus, constantly making sure we have the resources, partnerships, and infrastructure to support that growth. There’s also an ongoing and urgent need to educate people that bras, underwear, and period products are basic necessities—not luxuries.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work with I Support the Girls – Lancaster is really about connecting a basic need with dignity. We collect and distribute bras and period products throughout Lancaster, Berks, and York counties through nonprofits, schools, hospitals, and community outreach. Whether we’re doing street outreach, providing products for sexual-assault survivors, or working with students to assemble period kits, we want our community to feel that they are receiving more than a product—they’re being treated with dignity and respect.
I’m especially proud of how much we’ve grown through creating a circular supply chain. Several local medical offices, including plastic surgery offices, collect bras for us year-round, as their patients may be having a myriad of breast procedures. We also have a hormone replacement office that collects for us year-round. When their box of bras is full, they message me, and I pick up the bras.
Also, what sets us apart is that everything we collect stays local. We’re focused on understanding our community’s needs and finding meaningful ways to respond.
What makes you happy?
What makes me happiest is knowing that I am making someone else’s day a little easier. For example, it’s incredibly rewarding when we host fitting events for unhoused women or single mothers in our community. The women often cannot believe that we are providing the bras at no cost, and that we aim to provide more than one so they have options.
In fact, I am known for being giddy with excitement when a bra is a perfect fit!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://isupportthegirls.org/affiliates/lancaster-pa/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isupportthegirlslancasterpa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ISTGLancaster
