Not once, but twice in a last year, Paula Freeman, of Rochester, has driven to Syracuse to bring two or three sewing machines for WTB’s refugee/immigrant sewing program run by Jennifer Roberts Crittenden.
Apparently a story about the sewing program in the newsletter of University United Methodist Church, Syracuse got shared on Facebook. Then others shared it. It landed in Paula’s feed. She felt moved to help.
Paula found three machines which she brought over last fall. In June she came again with two more machines and she said her friend, who loves scouring estate sales and garage sales, is on the lookout for more.
This sewing program, run by Jennifer Crittenden, and staffed by eight teachers and a repair crew of other workers, has been going for 15 years and has helped hundreds of women learn to make clothes for themselves and their families.
They come for nine weeks of classes and go home with a sewing machine, oiled up and ready to go, along with a bag of fabric and notions. Jennifer estimates she has given away more than 500 machines.