This is how my friend Jane signs her e-mails and it always puts a smile on my face. She shares my passion for sewing and an appreciation for the people who are keeping it alive in spite of inexpensive ready to wear and the seismic shift in communication and purchasing methods.
As we enter the Thanksgiving season and think about our many blessings, consider giving a bit back to the sewing community to keep sewing and the sewing professions alive. The Association of Sewing and Design Professionals (ASDP) has established a 501c3 Charitable Foundation with the goal of bestowing grants and scholarships to worthy non-profit sewing causes and students. Our mission and vision statements reflect our strong desire to keep sewing alive and thriving:
Vision Statement – We envision a world where the sewing and design industry is made up of well trained, highly skilled, and fairly compensated professionals whose unique skills, expertise, and workmanship are respected and valued.
Mission Statement- Our mission is to support students pursuing education in sewing and design, educators teaching the next generation of sewing and design professionals, and to the extent permitted by IRS interpretations of charitable purpose, small manufacturers and other sewing and design entrepreneurs.
I am so proud to be a part of this effort to endow funds for this purpose. It reflects my appreciation for the creative growth, personal satisfaction, increased self- esteem and professional mentoring I found through my pursuit of the sewing arts and my affiliation with ASDP. It is a lofty dream to raise the funds needed to allow ASDP to provide these opportunities to folks in need, but I believe it is a valid goal.
Click here to see an informal conversation with Sarah Veblen and me about the foundation. Then join me in this effort.
You can help in a number of different ways:
- Sign up for smile.amazon.com and choose ASDP Charitable Foundation to receive a small % of your shopping $$.
- Participate in #GivingTuesday November 29 (or any day through the end of December). This day has recently been set side as an international day of giving back in this season of gifting. After spending on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday click here to make a tax- deductible credit card donation to the ASDP Charitable Foundation.
- Visit the Foundation’s web page, http://www.sewingprofessionals.org/our-charitable-foundation#sthash.UTcK8C3i.dpuf for information on making a tax- deductible contribution with a personal check as part of your end- of- year giving.
- Share this information with other sewing friends and family and encourage them to contribute or shop through Amazon Smile in support of this effort.
Together we can share our sewing thankfulness with those in need for generations to come.
A happy and healthy Thanksgiving to all you love and who gather around your table.
Happy Sewing, RAE
