Home sweet shelter

Gift registry brings dignity, eyelet shams, to Bowery Mission Women's Center.

Published July 26, 2006 10:52PM (EDT)

Fluffy towels, a teakettle, a Luigi Bormioli Michelangelo 84-ounce pitcher: They're typical gift registry items -- but this is not your typical gift registry. The "happy couple" here is New York's Bowery Mission Women's Center and the 16 formerly homeless women staying there while they develop the skills to live and work on their own.

During a recent renovation of the 19th century brownstone that houses the center, the project manager realized that funding would run out before she could supply nice blankets, comfy pillows and other means of turning the house into a home. Hence the registries: one at Bed, Bath & Beyond (#1718811) and one at Gracious Home (in-store only, #639).

Talk about a way to make a concrete donation to a good cause! I read about this in the New York Times while I was on vacation, and finally just dug out the clipping I'd stuffed in my suitcase. There are plenty of items left, if you're so inclined. As for me, I hope they like the flatware.


By Lynn Harris

Award-winning journalist Lynn Harris is author of the comic novel "Death by Chick Lit" and co-creator of BreakupGirl.net. She also writes for the New York Times, Glamour, and many others.

MORE FROM Lynn Harris


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