Sewing circle project earns kudos for young mothers and NSCC students
Partnership between NSCC students and young, single moms scores high in entrepreneurial competition
Learning a new skill and reviving an old tradition has earned some national recognition for a group of community college students and young, single mothers in Dartmouth.
Project Mend, a partnership between the Nova Scotia Community College and young mothers at the YWCA's Supportive Housing for Young Mothers, resulted in the creation of an old-time sewing circle in which the young women worked on handmade baby bibs.
The joint effort was part of a competition run by an organization called Enactus, which encourages the development of business solutions to address social and environmental issues.
Project Mend competed in a category for the top eight projects in the country.
"It was basically a practical skill, and it was kind of a social aspect as well ... [looking] back to the days where women would just sit around and sew, and talk and be social," said Brittany Warren, the co-president of the Enactus NSCC Ivany Campus team which worked with 10 young mothers between the ages of 15 and 24.
"We wanted the moms to be able to kind of come together and relate to one another and share their experiences and learn to lean on one another for support."
The NSCC students taught the mothers skills such as using a sewing machine, promoting their business using social media, running a sales website and taking attractive product photos.
"Most of the moms were really interested in the selling and the marketing aspect of the bibs," Warren said. Some of the mothers hope to start businesses of their own someday, she added.
The group successfully sold out of its entire stock of handmade baby bibs, giving the young mothers some extra income and allowing them to practice entrepreneurial skills.
This week, the NSCC students travelled to Toronto to talk about Project Mend at a national competition entered by 77 teams from post-secondary schools across the country.
"We came runner-up in our league, which was a huge accomplishment for us," said Warren. "We're very proud of that."
She said Project Mend was also able to divert about 60 pounds of fabric waste from landfills, by using old T-shirts and material that would otherwise have been discarded.
Warren and the NSCC team returned to Halifax on Thursday night and she says they are looking forward to sharing the results with the young mothers.