In 2022 IRC Seattle started a sewing program called New Americans Artisan Collective to promote women’s empowerment through handicrafts. The inaugural class was launched in the fall, comprised entirely of refugee women from Afghanistan. On December 16th, the program proudly celebrated as the first cohort of six women graduated.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments of our sewing class participants and instructor,” says Lauren Nicolas, program coordinator, “Each participant came away with 7-8 projects that they worked on for the duration of the class, and the degree of individuality and creativity was really fun to see. Joining them on Wednesday mornings was the best part of my week.”

Under the direction of a sewing instructor and teaching assistant, women in the class refined their sewing skills, reworked past projects, and learned new professional skills. “I love everything about sewing,” commented one class participant, “I love to make new things and designs. I love making new quilts and pillow covers; I am very happy that I joined the class and learned new things.” Another participant said her favorite part of class was learning to cut patterns and sew clothes—something she had never done before.

With the help of the IRC Seattle Mental Health program and our dedicated class interpreter, we were also able to create an environment for the women to socialize during the sewing classes, so they could make lasting social connections outside of their homes.

For the graduation ceremony, we were joined by the families of our graduates, our class interpreter Mohammad, IRC staff from the Development team, Economic Empowerment, and Mental Health programs, staff and board members from the Afghan American Community of WA and Masjid al Quba, who kindly donated the space for the sewing classes, and representatives from the Immigration and Sanctuary Committee at Congregation Beth Shalom, including our volunteer sewing assistant, Shelley Kushner.

At the end of the class, women not only took home finished projects, but each participant took home their machine and sewing supply box, along with some donated fabric and a gift card to JoAnn Fabric & Crafts to purchase any other tools or fabric they need to keep their momentum moving forward. “The incredible success of this program has been largely thanks to the assistance of generous donors and community organizations,” says Lauren. Since the beginning of the program, community support for this project has been overwhelming and included donations of machines, materials, space, tools, a guided fabric store tour, and offers for continued outreach and advocacy.

Looking forward, we are working on the next steps for our first cohort to turn their creativity into economic opportunity, and we are excited to welcome a new cohort of the sewing program beginning early spring 2023.

 

More Quotes from the Celebration:

“I had the most positive experience working as a volunteer teacher with the first group of women in the sewing project. The class was filled with motivated, eager to learn, focused women. The number of skills taught and learned provided a sound foundation towards the project goals. The shared experience in the classroom was supportive and encouraging. The culmination of this set of classes was the graduation which acknowledged the successful hard work everyone put in. The array of completed projects displayed in the room was exquisite. I felt privileged to be part of this project.” ~Shelley Kushner, Class Sewing Instructor

“Jody and I were extremely motivated to introduce the IRC Economic Empowerment Sewing Program to our Beth Shalom Congregation. We were blown away by the response. Our members were truly inspired to get this program off the ground and were driven to supply sewing machines, sewing baskets, fabric and to even reach out to all their networks for additional support. Being a part of the first cohort graduation gave us the opportunity to let the congregation know their efforts helped these women begin to thrive; and seeing the fruits of their labors warmed our hearts.” ~ Susan Morgensztern, Beth Shalom Liaison to IRC and Jody Mizrahi, Chair, Immigration and Sanctuary Committee

Special thanks to Afghan American Community of WA and Masjid al Quba, Temple Beth Shalom, LDS Church and the Seattle Stake, Pacific Fabrics who provided coupons and invited us for a tour, private donors in the community, and IRC staff from Economic Empowerment, Mental Health, and Development departments who all came together to make this program possible.