New, tagged bras and binders are being collected for people in the greater Capital Region at BraVa!, a benefit that pairs donations with a night of live performances. The event runs Thursday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy.
According to WAMC, the fundraiser benefits residents of the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region as well as other people in need across the region. The Arts Center of the Capital Region, located at 265 River Street, serves as a partner in the event alongside the YWCA-GCR, and Starletta Renee, a director at the YWCA-GCR, is among those involved in the program, per the station's report.
Regional writers will present jury-selected work inspired by bras, including poems and essays as well as songs and monologues, WAMC reports. Organizers describe the program as moving between serious and comic material. Attendees are asked to bring a new, tagged bra or binder to donate at the door.
A Decade-Plus of Performances and Donations
BraVa! traces back to writer Marion Roach Smith, who has said she founded the program, which later became a partnership between the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region and the Arts Center of the Capital Region, according to an interview published by Upstate Creative.
Early results and the YWCA’s broader work
The Times Union reported that the inaugural Brava! benefit, held Nov. 13 at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, collected more than 500 new bras for women at the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region. That figure documents the first event; it does not establish totals for later BraVa! drives. A separate bra-donation initiative offers context on the YWCA’s broader distribution work, but not specifically on BraVa! donations: in a March 12, 2018 statement, the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region said it had collected and distributed more than 1,500 new bras over the preceding three years, free to girls and women at the YWCA and in the community.
BraVa!'s 11th Annual Event
WAMC describes Thursday's fundraiser as the 11th annual event, and one AllEvents listing for the Nov. 5 date likewise calls it the 11th Annual BraVa!.
What is consistent across the record is the format itself: performances about bras, paired with a real donation drive meant to put new bras and binders directly into the hands of people who need them. Thursday's gathering at the Arts Center of the Capital Region continues that tradition for another year.
