Sew Much Love for people in need

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This article was published 27/10/2019 (2359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As scissors clacked and sewing machines whirred, the brightly lit basement room of the St. Matthews Maryland Community Ministry filled with laughter, bouncing between some of the nearly 30 helpers who had gathered.

Now, thanks to their efforts, hundreds of Winnipeggers will have a little more help warding off the winter cold.

On Saturday afternoon, nearly 30 crafty supporters turned out to support Sew Much Love, a four-hour sewing marathon in support of local non-profit 1JustCity. The event aimed to craft nearly 3,000 cozy items, including neck warmers, tuques and mittens to distribute this winter to folks in need.

After all, as Sew Much Love founder Laura Everett knows, the need is almost endless. And Everett also knows a thing or two about how clothing can make a difference: her business, Laura’s Underthere, turns recycled fabric into comfortable underwear, and regularly donates pairs to community organizations.

When she came up with the idea for Sew Much Love, Everett — who also works as 1JustCity’s community capacity builder — envisioned an opportunity not only to help those in need, but also to unite people around a common cause.

“I thought it would be a really cool way to get people involved in understanding a little bit about poverty and homelessness,” Everett said, as she oversaw the activity Saturday afternoon. “A way for people to create and use their skills to help out, and to have people in different postal codes meet and get to know each other a little bit.”

Most of the fabric for the event was donated from local quilters, while the rest came from Everett’s own stash.

Some of the folks who turned out to sew were accomplished seamstresses. Others, including 1JustCity intern Anna Goertzen Loeppky, had “only sewed a little bit” before signing up, she said. But with some help from her grandmother, who was sewing beside her, Goertzen Loeppky learned to turn out a double-sided tuque in just 20 minutes.

‘I thought it would be a really cool way to get people involved in understanding a little bit about poverty and homelessness’– Sew Much Love founder Laura Everett

“With a little bit of help, I think this is something most people can do,” Goertzen Loeppky said. “It’s a lot of fun, and fun to do it with a big group of people too.”

Everett is aiming to have 3,000 items made in time for 1JustCity’s next big event, Walk A Mile In My Shoes, on Nov. 23. That morning, supporters will gather at Oak Table on Pulford Street for an educational walking tour of Osborne Village, as well as discussions about the non-profit’s plans for the future.

Founded as an umbrella organization by four local non-profits, 1JustCity runs community outreach drop-ins out of three locations, including Oak Table, West Broadway Community Services, and St. Matthews Maryland Community Ministry in the West End.

On cold nights between January and March, it also spearheads the Just A Warm Sleep emergency warming shelter, which runs out of the Oak Table space. For more information, visit 1justcity.ca.

 

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca