If you have lived in Verandah for a while you know about our Sew & Sews. Sew & Sews are a group of over 160 active volunteers who attend meetings twice a month to create handcrafted items to support local nonprofits in our community. As they sew, quilt, knit, crochet and knot, they are re-energizing their love for their craft while making a difference.
This is remarkable, but describing it as such understates the real-life impact these volunteers have on children who are ill or traumatized, for women who have sought a safe haven from domestic violence, and for post-surgical and chemotherapy patients, to give some examples.
On January 16th , Sew & Sews held their annual Kick-Off Luncheon at the River House with over 100 members in attendance. Representatives from three of the nonprofit organizations that Sew & Sews has served for years spoke about what the group’s crafts meant to their clients.
The first speaker was from the Children’s Network of SWFL. The Children’s Network is the nonprofit lead agency for the child welfare system in Lee and several other counties and is responsible for over 2500 abused and neglected children. We all know firsthand that children often hold on to special dolls or blankets for security and comfort when they are tired, stressed, or in an unfamiliar situation. The staff of the Children’s Network say that one of the hardest parts of their job is taking a young child from their home and moving him or her to a new “home.” To ease this transition children are given a beautiful handmade quilt made by Sew & Sews’ quilters to take with them and hold onto. The quilt becomes their special thing that gives them some security, and the softness of the quilt gives them physical comfort as well. For many the quilt is the most beautiful thing they have ever had and can call their own.
ACT (Abuse, Counseling and Treatment, Inc.) Emergency Shelter. The ACT Emergency Shelter offers a safe haven for victims of domestic violence and survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking, as well as the children of these victims. Their Fort Myers’ shelter offers 73 beds. A significant number of the women entering the shelter arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs. Because they arrive with very little, the shelters must provide immediate necessities like toiletries, clothes, and shoes. Sew & Sews’ sewers create adorable backpacks for kids to store their things. The women receive handcrafted toiletry bags containing donated items and tote bags to organize papers for court proceedings. Our knotters create cuddly fleece knotted blankets for their children. These are things we take for granted but are invaluable to those in circumstances we find hard to imagine.
The Nurse Navigator from Lee Health Cancer Institute also spoke. She thanked the group for providing them with post-surgical pillows and shawls and blankets for chemotherapy patients. The pillows provide specialized support to protect surgical sites, reduce pressure, and improve sleep quality. Chemotherapy often causes sensitivity to temperature and the hats, blankets and shawls made by the Sew & Sews’ knitters and crocheters provide warmth and comfort during long, cold infusion sessions.
These are just a few of the nonprofit organizations, doing good work in the community, that Sew & Sews serves. Hats off to the Sew & Sews. You make a difference!
