Amazing Women 2025: Meeting Maria from Smalls For All

Here at team Y.O.U we've really been looking forward to International Women's Day 2025. We wanted to take this opportunity to catch up with some of the women we really admire and find out more about their work and experiences.

And what better way to start than a catch up with Maria Macnamara of Smalls For All. At Y.O.U Underwear we have been working with Smalls For All since 2018. From the beginning, our Buy One Give One policy has been a core pillar of the business and it is so important to us to give back in this way. It's thanks to Maria and her incredible work at Smalls For All that this is possible. We know that we reference her work a lot so we thought it would be a good time to have a more in depth chat with her so that you can all find out more about her mission!

So read on for a bit more insight into how Smalls For All works...

What does Smalls For All do?

At Smalls For All we work to ensure that everyone has underwear no matter their circumstance. We collect new pants and new or gently worn bras and distribute them to people in the UK and Africa. Thanks to the donations of our supporters - who send us items they have bought, or purchased directly through our website - we have been able to distribute over 2.2 million items of underwear!

Who receives your donations?

The majority of our donations go to women and girls but we do donate to men and boys who are struggling with access to underwear as well. In Africa, our underwear donations go to people living in orphanages and slum areas as well as those who have been internally displaced. In the UK, we work with organisations helping to provide essential supplies to those experiencing homelessness and poverty. 

How long have you been running Smalls For All?

I set up the charity in 2010 so we have been running for around 14 years now! I felt motivated to set up the charity following some volunteering trips to Ethiopia where I met women and girls who were struggling with access to the underwear they needed. This was having an impact on their health and particularly causing problems for girls in schools when they have their periods. Our work aims to reduce this issue and since 2019 we also work within the UK to improve accessibility to underwear.

What are the difficulties and challenges of running your charity?

In 2019, we received on average around 5,500 parcels of underwear donations each month. Recently, we’ve been receiving only 1,500. Monetary donations have fallen in line with underwear donations, while requests for underwear are as high as they’ve ever been. So, our biggest challenge is spreading awareness of the need in order to keep donation levels up. We’re grateful to everyone who helps champion our cause by talking about it to others.

What do you need from people and your community & what would you like to see in the future?

We’re indebted to each and every person who makes a contribution of any kind to support the work of Smalls. For example, donating money or new underwear, donating gently worn bras, organising collections or fundraisers for us, and recycling (through Recycle4Charity) or shopping online (through Easyfundraising) which raises funds for us at no cost to them. Without the continuing generosity and kindness of such people we wouldn’t be able to carry on. Our biggest ask at the moment is for everyone to please share, share, share to help raise awareness and increase our donation levels.

What is your favourite thing about International Women's Day and which women will you be looking to this year?

In what often feels like a harsh, bleak world, I welcome any excuse to celebrate positivity – the wonderful things that people do and the effect of a little kindness. IWD provides just such a focus. Every day, I personally celebrate the dedication and generosity of Smalls’ wonderful volunteers who give up their time to help us provide dignity to those in need through the provision of underwear.

A huge thank you to Maria for taking the time to chat with us and give us the opportunity to learn more about Smalls For All and their mission. 

We are so grateful for the work that Smalls For All do and very proud of the donations we have been able to help with through our partnership and thanks to YOUR support! 

If you'd like to find out more or make a donation, you can visit Smalls For All's website. Or you can support them through shopping for underwear with Y.O.U.

We will be highlighting some more amazing women in the coming weeks in preparation for International Women's Day, so stay tuned for more to come!

In the meantime...

Join Sarah in Scotland for a Weekend with Smalls For All.

Find out more about our partnership with Future Dreams charity

And read about our 100,000 pairs donation target!

Images courtesy of Y.O.U Underwear.