I was very impressed with your group when I first joined you in November. You warmly welcomed me and patiently answered my many questions. You have an efficient and impressive operation which has been perfected over the years.
At one point someone said to me “you should start a group in Mount Dora”. I tossed it around in my brain for a bit and then I acted.
I am happy to report that Mount Dora area has enthusiastically joined the quest to “dream of a world in which every girl has at least one new dress”. We have about 24 volunteers, including some from western PA and upstate NY. We have received financial donations which have allowed me to purchase elastic, labels, and polyfil. We are meeting at a local church twice a month and the church has created a bank account so we can operate as a non-profit.
Since launching in late February I have collected 20 dresses. One woman cut 18 dresses in a weekend from her fabric stash!
The local community has been generous with their time and donations and I would like to support their causes if possible. I am hoping to partner with local organizations to distribute dresses once I gather more. This means that I may not be coming to Lake Nona if I am successful at establishing relationships with humanitarian groups in the area.
I will always treasure what I have learned from Dressed in Hope and the warm welcome I received from your group. Thank you for setting such a wonderful example. I hope Mount Dora can be as successful as Dressed in Hope.
All the best and happy sewing,
Susan
FRIENDS WHO SEW
Dressed In Hope is fortunate to have many friends who have contributed over 400 dresses. Some are just individuals and others are groups that enjoy sewing socializing and contributing to a great cause. We have friends in St. Petersburg, Ft. Myers, Cape Coral, Avon Park, Port Orange, Merritt Island and Port St. Lucie, Florida. In addition we receive dresses from Indiana, Michigan, California Georgia and Connecticut. If you would like to know more about how you can help, please reach out to us from the “contact us” page.
THANK YOU to our friends at DRESSED IN HOPE for being the smile-makers that you are!! For the second year in a row the girls that came to our Free AFWP NATIVE EYES CLINIC on the Rosebud Reservation LOVED the beautiful dresses and dolls you made for them. THANK YOU from all of us Artists for World Peace for sharing your love with us.
#chriskraus Artists For World Peace #wendyblacknasta @ArtistsandPeace #dressedinhope
THURSDAYS @ DIH
We construct our dresses at the VillageWalk Town Center during our weekly workshops.
We meet Thursdays from 10 to 12. We also need volunteers who do not sew. We always have work to be done that doesn’t require sewing skills. We need pattern cutters, doll face painters, yarn hair creators and sometimes just fabric and notion organizers. Please join us! Please reach out to us from the “contact us” page and let us know you are coming! Looking forward to meeting you!