About 140 volunteers gathered in a room at the Tucson Womenโs Club on July 21, to help children who are being removed from their homes.
They were part of the 20th annual Bags for Kids Sew-a-thon, sponsored by Aviva Childrenโs Services, Catheyโs Sewing & Vacuum and Mamaโs Hawaiian Bar-B-Cue.
Before Bags for Kids, children placed in foster care had their belongings stuffed into trash bags to take with them when they were removed from their homes. The bags made at the sew-a-thon are more than nice, pretty, serviceable bags. They are a message that these children and their clothes and possessions arenโt trash.
The majority of volunteers came equipped with their own sewing machines or sergers and set up their machines on the many long tables, which were equipped with snacks, instruction sheets and all manner of supplies.
They began working immediately, taking fabric already cut to the right size, and made them into simple duffle bags.
As each bag was finished, it was stacked at the end of the table for another volunteer to take it to the next step. There, cords were inserted for drawstrings and the bags went to the next step: folding and stacking.
By the time the sew-a-thon ended, at least 2,450 bags had been made according to Bob Heslinga, executive director for Aviva Childrenโs Services. They were needed: Last year, Aviva distributed more than 5,000 bags to children.
The volunteer work was popular โ anyone who wanted to sew had to reserve a spot and there was a waiting list.
Of course volunteers gathered, cut and folded the fabric in the days and weeks before the sew-a-thon began. This was not a fly-by-night operation.
Cindy Lingel of Aviva coordinated the volunteers, which included veterans and sew-a-thon beginners.
Pamela Garcia made her first bag under the direction of Brenda Craft. Within an hour, she had made several bags and was rapidly becoming an expert.
One table had a group of volunteers sewing their bags as an assembly line, each doing one part before passing the fabric along to the next person. These friends had obviously done this before and had a plan.
Catheyโs Sewing & Vacuum had technical support personnel on hand for sewing machine problems and Mamaโs Hawaiian Bar-B-Cue provided lunch. Advice from sewing experts flowed freely.
