Sewing together a sense of community

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This article was published 23/05/2017 (3088 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Students from several local schools demonstrated their sewing skills for a good cause on May 3.

The students, along with several teachers and support staff, came together in the Glenlawn Clothing Lab to work on several items needed by the Children’s Hospital Guild of Manitoba for the Sew4Kids event.

Joining the Glenlawn contingent were students from Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, Dakota Collegiate, Darwin School, J. H. Bruns Collegiate, and Windsor Park Collegiate, said Heidi Forrester, a key organizer and Human Ecology Team Leader at Glenlawn.

Forrester said the three-hour, after-school event is an opportunity for clothing and design teachers from across the Louis Riel School Division to bring students together to use the different skills they have learned in their classes in “an authentic and meaningful way.”

At the event, there were four work stations with each one dedicated to the creation of a different item — pyjama pants, bear ears, rag quilts, and heart pillows.

“It’s about getting kids together from different clothing programs in the division to utilize their skills,” Forrester said, noting there were 55 participants at a previous Sew4Kids event late last year.

“This is a great exercise in citizenship, as well as connecting with one another and building community. Obviously, this also shows the kids that their skills have a purpose, and we all look forward to these events because it creates such a positive feeling being able to do this for others.”

Forrester said, for example, that hundreds of pairs of bear ears have been made for the foundation’s annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic, which guild members sell as a fundraiser, while the heart pillows are donated to the Variety Children’s Heart Centre.

“It’s really all about kids helping kids,” Forrester said.

At the start of the May 3 event, two Glenlawn students said they were looking forward to doing their bit for the cause.

“Helping people is a nice thing to do, and it’s a way to give back to the community,” said Tatum Greenhalgh, 16, who lives in River Park South. “I’m hoping to spend some time at all of the stations.

“It’s a good cause, and it’s a good group of people,” St. Vital resident Brooke Penner, 16, added. “Today I’ll be working on the bear ears, and I expect to be quilting, as well.”

Forrester said this is the second year the school has hosted Sew4Kids events, and this is the fifth one to date. The materials for the event were donated by Siltex, a fabric wholesaler in the city.

simon.fuller@canstarnews.com