Event raises $12,000 for area recipients.

Bras are meant to provide support, but more than 60 bras provided support of a different kind last weekend.

The second annual Bras for a Cause event was Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside. The event raised about $12,000 for a few local organizations.

“It went pretty well,” event coordinator Sunny Housen said. “Considering the economy and where it’s at right now, we did very well.”

The Soroptimist International of Greater North Kitsap-sponsored event raised money for the Harrison Medical Center Oncology Department healing garden project, Hospice of Kitsap County’s youth grief counseling program and cancer retreat programs for local residents at Harmony Hills.

Last year’s Bras for a Cause raised more than $15,000 for the cancer-related services, so this year’s total was down just a little bit.

Housen said about 200 people attended the event and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Housen said more than 60 bras and 93 auction items were submitted for Bras for a Cause. One design, titled “The Wizard of Bras,” looked like a flying monkey from the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz.”

“It was huge, like 3 feet tall,” Housen said.

Soroptimist International of Port Orchard created a bra called “Janet’s Garden.” It was a live flower basket and the flowers had grown into the shape of a bra.

Gordon Sound, a full service entertainment and professional sound company in Silverdale, created a bra titled “Disco DDD Diva.” The bra was comprised of a colored mirror ball cut in half and it rotated and played music. The “Disco DDD Diva” was voted the funniest bra at the event.

Harrison Medical Center’s oncology department created a bra out of shells. Like many other bras, the “Under the C” bra came with goodies such as wine and wine glasses.

“It had a lot with it,” Housen said.

Housen said Soroptimist International of Greater North Kitsap will have decks of cards and calendars with photos of the themed bras available for purchase next month. Money raised through cards and calendar sales go to the Soroptimist club, which then puts the money to use in the community.

For more information on the decks of cards and calendars, visit Soroptimist International of Greater North Kitsap’s Web site at www.signk.org.