Hi, Early last year I read an article on this website discussing the women who lost their sewing machines, and thus, their livlihood due to the Tsunami early in 2005. I was inspired to begin a project and started collecting used sewing machines to ship to Sri Lanka and India. We partnered with the American Hindu Association and sent 25 machines. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2006, we redirected our efforts to New Orleans and have taken about 150 donated machines to that area so far. We continue to collect machines in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, with a goal of collecting 500 more machines. Thank you to this site for raising my awareness and inspiring me to begin what has become an amazing project! If you’d like more information you can contact me at [email protected].
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Hi Margaret,
That's a great thing to do! Are there any restrictions to be aware of, such as limitations on the machine's age? Do you also take/send fabric donations?
Hi,
Our stipulation is only that the machine be in working order. I work in a sewing machine dealership so we're able to clean up the machine, oil it, do basic maintenance but our technicians don't have the time to repair a non-working machine.
We do take some fabric donations but have learned to be kind of picky. We're asking that the donor consider the region the fabric's going to (no fake fur, please!) and that it be washed and clean.
If you'd like more info on the collection sites, please let me know!
Margaret
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