If you’d been standing by the Northside Learning Center on Thursday, November 6 you would have seen women from Afghanistan, Burma, Rwanda and Sudan, each carrying a bin full of fabric and sewing notions and then making a second trip to lug a sewing machine of their very own. They’d just finished their eight-week sewing class.
Jennifer Roberts Crittenden has led a group of volunteer teachers for 15 years working with refugee and immigrant women, teaching them to use a sewing machine or helping those who have used one to polish their skills. The women begin learning to work the machine and make a simple project and by the end of the eight weeks they are often making a making a pair of pants with an elastic waste.
When they complete the course, they go home with the fabric, notions and machine so they can make things and continue to learn on their own.
Jennifer says she has given away more than 500 sewing machines over the years, all donated. She gathers a group of regulars at her home to repair, clean, oil and prep the machine which are much prized by the women.
The next class will begin on December 4 and Jennifer already has 8 students from the Northeast Community Center Syracuse .