Maidenform Volunteers Brave Heatwave to Make a Difference to Women in Need

The volley of 100 degree days last week made most people utterly limp at the thought of manual labor.

Not so the employees at Maidenform. 

More than a dozen workers from the Iselin, NJ-based creator of women's lingerie volunteered to refurbish one of the bedrooms at a New Brunswick women's shelter. It turned out that the day they did it on was one of the record-setting scorchers from which the area is still recovering.

The volunteers were taking part in an 'Extreme Makeover' of Women Aware, a 30-year-old safehouse experience for women and children who need shelter from domestic violence.

Women Aware, based in New Brunswick, has a safe house with nine bedrooms, all of which were in dire need of fixing up. The Maidenform group volunteered to redo one of the bedrooms, and raised $4,000 toward their goal.

They painted and redecorated the bedroom in the broiling heat, brought in brand new furniture, and fixed up two bathrooms as a surprise. They even treated the Women Aware clients to a pizza lunch.

One thing women in a safe house need is an occasional treat. The Maidenform group came prepared with more than paint, drop cloths, and brushes. They brought along a selection of the company's undergarments for the shelter residents.

Other groups have also gotten involved in rehabbing the Women Aware shelter. Two hundred members of the Liquid Church, a non-denominational Christian organization in New Brunswick, took on the general upgrading of the building, while employees from Price Waterhouse Coopers and students from Rutgers volunteered to redo the shelter's living room.

Women Aware can serve up to 10 families in its 9 bedroom facility. They also provide a host of service to at-risk women and children in the area.