BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Back in April, 23ABC introduced you to Sherry Morrow, a Bakersfield local who spends her free time collecting donations to benefit the community.
Recently, she was in the process of collecting bras to give to women as part of the Open Door Network. She ended up donating a total of 555 bras. However, her efforts didn’t stop there. She's now collecting blankets for the SPCA and says there is no other way she would rather spend her free time.
“I love people and I want people to know that they matter and I want to make a difference in someone's life and touch people's hearts and give them chills like ‘you know I do matter. I am great and I am awesome,' and let them know that people care about them.”
Morrow says she started her donation journey seven years ago when someone educated her about the lack of presents that local teens received during the holidays. She says when she started telling people about it at work, it wasn’t long before the donations came rushing in.
“People just started giving me money right and left and I went in between clients and bought donations. I had people bring donations to the salon before I knew it we had a little row of items.”
Morrow says her first time donating soon became a constant in her life where she not only organizes the annual fundraiser “Kissmass,” created to assist kids from the Boys and Girls Club, but she spends the rest of the year collecting various donations.
Currently, Morrow's efforts are centered around collecting items like blankets, dog bowls, and cat toys to give to animals at the Bakersfield SPCA. With each set of donations, she says she truly enjoys watching the community come together.
“Collect all the donations and put them in my car, usually my truck 'cause I have so many and take them to the facility that I’m giving them for and seeing how much I got and how many hearts came together for the donations — that is like the happiest. I get so excited.”
Morrow says each time someone reaches out to donate she's typically met with monetary donations. And while she is grateful for this, she wants people to know that donating items from your home that are deemed old could benefit someone else.
“Dome people don’t realize things that we take for granted that we just throw away, you know like our bras, our used towels and blankets and sheets that we just think ‘oh we’re done with them’ and just throw them away but they can be reused.”
Morrow says she has gone as far as driving to someone to pick up donations because she wants to ensure she donates as much as she can. However, Morrow says the credit isn’t hers to take but everyone who reaches out to her.
“I get emotional because, like I always say I’m nothing without the beautiful hearts and giving people and people coming together and just giving to me for the cause. It's just — I’m nothing without them.”
Morrow is hoping to deliver all the donations sometime in September, however, she accepts donations all year round.
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