Winnipeg group sewing for impact in local community, around world
Global News
Some simple sewing, and a needle pulling thread. That's what a local Winnipeg group hopes will spread love and kindness to those in need both in the city, and around the world.
It takes sewing machines, a pair of scissors, and a group of friends to keep Threads of Hope going.
The volunteer group, which uses the sewing skills of its members to create items for those in need, runs out of Winnipeg’s St. Saviour’s Anglican Church. It’s going on seven years of gathering and creating now.
“It primarily is a group of people that have come together wanting to help those in need and wanting to bring love and kindness and support,” said Cindy Bell, the founder of Threads of Hope.
She said she had been building houses in Mexico when a woman needed help sewing dresses for children in Africa, sparking an idea in her.
“She didn’t have much help. And I said, ‘I can help you,’ and ‘I have friends that can help you.’ So we got to talking, and it was almost like God had opened the door and I stepped through.”
Bell said the sewing group started off with about five people, but has now been stitched into a group of about 80, with 20 to 25 people coming in to lend a hand regularly.
“It takes a team to make this happen. And it’s been so rewarding,” she said.
Together, Threads of Hope has sewed, and even knitted, over 22,000 items across 70 different categories and sizes, and for international use.