MY STORY
I created Sew-Awesome in 2015 when I was 10. Originally I wanted to use my passion and creativity with sewing to raise money to buy sewing equipment for girls in developing countries. Buying equipment is still my main goal, but I would also like Sew Awesome to be a place where people come together to help.
I want others to feel empowered by their ability to make positive changes through small steps.
In the beginning, the main charity I supported was Sewing Seeds. My goal was to donate sewing machines to their sewing programs and to get the opportunity to visit these schools to help teach sewing to other girls. I achieved both goals in 2019 when I travelled with Sewing Seeds to their school in Mexico. In Mexico, I was able to donate a machine to a local Women's Shelter, and in January 2020, I helped to buy three more sewing machines for a new school that opened in Guatemala.
In 2020, I began to help make masks and caps to donate to health care workers and vulnerable community members. With my Mom, we organized a group of 70 volunteer sewists and donated.
948 surgical caps,1870 masks, and 57 gowns to these groups through our combined efforts.
One organization that we were able to help was a local Women's Resource Society called Atira. Atira has a great initiative called Enterprising Women Making Art (EWMA), where they help to support women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to earn extra income through selling their handmade goods. The Centre had some equipment, but I was able to raise $2000 to purchase two new sergers and additional equipment and materials needed for their sewing program.
In 2021, with the extra money I made through selling masks on my online store, I was then able to donate two new sergers to the North Shore Hospice and their sewing volunteer group.
This year, I will be volunteering with the sewing team at the North Shore Hospice, where they make gowns and pillowcases that are donated to the North Shore Hospice and two Hospitals that support the Downtown Eastside residents.
My current project is to raise $2,500 to help fund a puppy-in-training through the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) through the sales on my online store.
For every dollar I make with my sewing, I donate 50% of my profits to help a local charity.
