Sew-A-Thon Creates 120 Dresses For Third World Girls

Sew-A-Thon Creates 120 Dresses For Third World Girls - The Newtown Bee

Posted: 01 May 2019 05:17 AM PDT

NOTE: This story has been updated to include information about the next scheduled Dress A Girl Southern CT event.

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Several dozen women adroitly tackled the task of sewing simple dresses for at-risk Third World girls at a Dress A Girl Sew-A-Thon on Saturday, April 27, in the Great Hall at Newtown Congregational Church, creating more than 120 colorful dresses during the event.

With modern sewing machines in hand, the women deftly fabricated the dresses in two basic styles — sleeveless sundresses and T-shirt dresses, said Liz Skarzynski of Dress-A-Girl Southern Connecticut.

Dress A Girl Around the World is a campaign of Hope 4 Women International, a nonprofit organization intended to bring dignity to woman around the world since 2006. Hope 4 Women International is a non-denominational independent Christian organization.

So far this year, four sew-a-thons have been held in southern Connecticut churches, with another five sessions planned. Ms Skarzynski, coordinator of Monroe Dress A Girl Around the World, said that April 27 was the first time that a sew-a-thon was held in Newtown.

Ms Skarzynski said the dresses made by the women will be sent to needy girls in places such as Haiti, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Uganda, among other Caribbean and African locations.

The five-hour session brought together sewers and other volunteers to create the dresses from cotton fabric. The participants brought their own sewing machines to the event. Instructions were provided on how the create the dresses. Lunch was provided for participants.

Next Event Announced

Dress A Girl Southern Connecticut has announced its next sew-a-thon supporting Dress A Girl Around The World. The group will be at Monroe Congregational Church, 34 Church Street in Monroe, on Saturday, May 11, from 10 am until 3 pm.

This will be the fifth of nine events by local coordinators for 2019. All sewers and those who want to help are invited.

Ms Skarzynski says she and others involved in the effort "dream of a world in which every girl has at least one new dress. We want girls to know that they are worthy and respected and that they are loved by God."

Sew-a-thons, said Ms Skarzynski, offer "a fun afternoon of sewing, learning, and getting to know new people and reuniting with friends."

Call Ms Skarzynski 203-257-7174 to register and for additional information.

For those who would like to help but cannot attend, there are several ways to contribute:

*Donate cotton fabric to help make the dresses;

*Ask for a dress kit to make one or more at home; or

*Donate tax deductible funds to Hope For Women International, PO Box 14, Forest City IA 50436, or online at dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/donate.

Dress A Girl Southern Connecticut is partnering with Sacred Heart's Global Health Programs & Health Science Program in Fairfield and Heart 2 Heart, Hand N Hand in Grants Pass, Ore., to help distribute the dresses made locally to girls all over the world.

The local chapter is also planning to donate 500 dresses to First Baptist Church Wallingford for its Dominica Republic Mission in June.

Remaining 2019 Dress A Girl Southern Connecticut events also include June 1, The Congregational Church of Easton, 336 Westport Road in Easton; September 21, Monroe Congregational Church; October 19, The United Methodist Church of Monroe, 515 Cutlers Farm Road in Monroe; and November 2, Monroe Congregational Church.

Contact Ms Skarzynski for details about or registration for those events as well. Churches and other groups interested in hosting a sew-a-thon are also encouraged to contact Ms Skarzynski.

The mythical power of the white dress: Why women in Belarus hold on to their wedding gowns - Washington Post

Posted: 26 Apr 2019 03:00 AM PDT

Photo editor

April 26

Natasha, 35, performs as the Snow Queen in the kindergarten where she works in Vitebsk, Belarus. She bought the wedding dress five years ago for this purpose. (Oksana Veniaminova)

Galina, 60, wears her wedding veil at her home in Dubrovno, Belarus. She has held onto the veil for 40 years. "My grandmother told me to keep my veil and the icon. So I am still keeping them. I believe in the power of the veil." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Photographer Oksana Veniaminova set out to focus her graduate-degree work on the theme of women's memory — particularly, she told In Sight, "recollections that are purely feminine and can't appear in a man's head." Then she narrowed the theme to recollections associated with weddings, a monumental event for women in her native Belarus.

Veniaminova hopes to publish her photos in a book.

"The marital state serves as an indicator of a woman's success . . . so each item connected to this gala day has a very special meaning, even afterward," she said. "The wedding dress, the veil, the icon used during the ceremony, the bouquet and so on are shrouded in myth, awe and superstition. Popular belief endows the wedding gown with a mystical power to preserve a happy marriage forever and prescribes keeping it."

Superstition dictates that selling or giving away the dress could negatively affect a marriage or the woman herself. To many Belarusan women, the veil holds its own perceived powers, and generations pass down the instructions to hide the veil and not take it out of the home to ensure a solid marriage. Others believe the veil can be used to calm restless or crying infants and use it cover cribs.

Veniaminova notes the irony in the act of repeating this tradition for second marriages, illustrating that sometimes the only lasting marriage is between a woman and her dress.

A self-portrait of the photographer, Oksana Veniaminova, 30, wearing her wedding dress in her grandmother's apartment a year after her divorce. "I'm still keeping the gown because I want to cut it for the cover of the photo book about the White Dress," she said. (Oksana Veniaminova)

Liudmila, 42, wears her wedding dress at home in Vitebsk. She has kept the gown for 20 years. "My grandmother also kept her wedding dress, and when I was 5, it was the first time I saw it. It was very touching, one of the most intense impressions of my childhood." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Tatiana, 56, poses in the wedding dress she has kept for 30 years in her home in Vitebsk. She has a second husband now but still hangs onto the dress she wore at her first wedding. "I am sentimental," she said. (Oksana Veniaminova)

Valentina, 38, of Vitebsk, has kept her dress for 19 years. "Five women wore this dress during their weddings, and I didn't want to give it away," she said. "I also have my veil. I used to cover the crib with the veil when my child was sleeping uneasily." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Olga, 32, wears her wedding gown at home in Vitebsk, 12 years after her marriage. "I made up my mind not to give away my dress after the wedding," she said. "I feel like a princess while wearing it." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Antonina, 43, poses at home in Vitebsk with the wedding dress she has kept for 24 years, despite being divorced. "My husband and I divorced after six years," she said. "I keep the dress just because it doesn't hinder." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Vera, 35, wears her wedding gown in her apartment in Vitebsk. She's kept it for 14 years. "Probably I will pass on the dress to my daughter in whichever form," she said. "She can make a dress for a dancing performance or graduation ball out of it." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Galina, 66, of Vitebsk, holds up the wedding dress she has kept for 33 years. "I wanted to turn it into a blouse, but something in my heart stopped me. I would like the dress to be buried with me." (Oksana Veniaminova)

Snezhana, 40, wears her wedding veil at home in Vitebsk, Belarus. She has kept the veil for 17 years. "Because of the tradition," she said. (Oksana Veniaminova)

Lena, 34, of Vitebsk, shows off the gown she wore at her wedding 10 years ago. "This dress is an important part of my memory about the happy event," she said. "I am happy it still fits me." (Oksana Veniaminova)

In Sight is The Washington Post's photography blog for visual narrative. This platform showcases compelling and diverse imagery from staff and freelance photographers, news agencies and archives. If you are interested in submitting a story to In Sight, please complete this form.

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