Project is sew inspiring

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Jackie Brooks, Ernestine Boston, Luann Stepina, Cornelia Malone, Jeannette Johnson, Kim Belfield, Pa Meade, Michelle O'Mara hold the dresses they sewed at First Presbyterian Church in Joliet as part of the Michigan-based project, "Little Dressses for Africa." SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Updated: March 20, 2012 8:07AM

Fabric scraps and ribbon remnants in the hands of local enterprising youths and one foundation are now brand-new dresses for little girls living in Haiti and Africa.

Two organizations, Girl Scout Troop 572 in Plainfield and First Presbyterian Church in Joliet, became inspired with the Michigan-based organization Little Dresses for Africa (www.littledressesforafrica.org), which creates simple dresses from pillowcases and distributes them to orphanages, schools and churches in Africa.

Then, Pat Meade, program chairman of the Joliet-based Tealight Foundation, saw the information on a flier and decided the project would be perfect for the foundation’s Global Poverty Initiative.

‘Making a difference’

When Brenda Rosenbaum and her co-leader Beth Randall of Girl Scout Troop 572 heard about Little Dresses for Africa they contacted Brenda’s cousin, who does missionary work in Haiti, to see if she needed dresses for little girls.

Once affirmed, Rosenbaum and Randall bought patterns and material from a fabric store and taught the girls in their troop simple sewing.

“You can also take a pillow case, cut the top of it and string some ribbon through to make a dress,” Rosenbaum said.

They not only made nine dresses, Rosenbaum modified the design so her son Zachary, 15, who needed a service project for Troop 83 in Plainfield, could stitch four pairs of boys shorts.

For Rosenbaum’s daughter, Beth, 12, the project was her first lessons in sewing and overseas service.

“I felt like I was making a difference,” Beth said. “You know how you hear on TV, ‘Help Haiti’? Well, I was actually helping now.”

Getting the word out

Rosenbaum shared her idea with her friend Heather Rey, youth director at First Presbyterian Church. Rey had been seeking a way for youth and adults to collaborate on a project and “little dresses” was the perfect solution.

In the meantime, Meade, while creating care packages for the troops at Harwood Post on Martin Luther King Day, saw Rey’s event on a flier. Meade, a nurse at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center, shared her plans to attend with some of the nurses at the hospital, and they donated a large supply of pillowcases.

Then Meade invited another three foundation members to attend the dressmaking event at First Presbyterian Church. Nearly 40 people participated in the creation of 80 dresses, which they shipped to the Little Dresses for Africa mission team.

Meade said none of the women in her group had ever sewed, but when they saw how much fun everyone was having, they joined right in.

“We learned how to cut patterns and made 14 dresses,” Meade said.

That spirit even extended to the male members of the youth group.

“Making the dresses for Africa was really fun and also quite difficult,” said Nathan Rey, 16, of Plainfield. “In the long run this whole project showed me that when people come together, that we can all accomplish a big goal, and in this case, a goal that will really help some people out who really need it.”