Some great donations!

We got some wonderful donations today--undies, washcloths,  $20 to pick up some "Ziplocs,  or whatever you need most," and lots of great fabric for bags and shields.

Thanks so much Joanne, Ann, and Susan!

If you're interested in buying supplies for Days for Girls, right now seems to be the time for "Back to School" underwear sales at Walmart, Target and Fred Meyer.  Both Fruit of the Loom and Hanes have these packs on sale, with 1-3 extra pair included for the already low sale price.

July 20th at Our Sewing Room

We had a very productive work day Sunday at the wonderful Our Sewing Room in Springfield.   Ten of us gathered to work on bags, shields and liners.  Many thanks to Mary Jo and Don for hosting us.  Future dates are listed at the end of this post.

Some of the people who came to work also brought fabric donations.  They were wonderful--these donors must have read the guidelines in our July 12 post (just scroll down to read it).  All of the fabric colors and patterns are perfect for our needs.

A highlight during the day was a visit from Junction City resident Gwen Meyer, who runs the nonprofit Friends of Kenya Schools and Wildlife.  In a few weeks, we will be sending 100 kits to Kenya with her for girls in the schools her group supports.  We are very excited to have made this connection, and loved meeting Gwen and hearing about FKSW and seeing the photos she shared.

For those of you interested in buying some supplies for the kits, I'll try to post here any sales I read about:
Right now, Target has girls' cotton briefs on sale:  exhilaration 9+1 pack panties for $6  60¢ each).  We need girls' sizes 10-16, and a few women's sizes 5-7.
Or you can get Fruit of the Loom (FOL) 12-packs for 7.99.  (67¢ each)
Target also has a great deal on washcloths--an 8-pack marked down to $2.75.  The blue would be a good color for our kits.
Walmart advertises the same FOL 12-packs of briefs for $5.96. (50¢ each)
Bring any supplies you would like to donate to any DFG work day, or of course you can drop them off with Mary Jo at Our Sewing Room any day, Wednesday through Saturday.

OUR FUTURE DATES for working on the kits at Our Sewing Room,  all from 10 am to 4 pm:

August 17
September 21
October 26
November 16
December 14

Please mark your calendars and join us as often as you can!

Fabric Choices

Do you want to donate fabric for shields, liners or bags?  If you quilt or do other sewing, you probably have some perfect fabric in your stash!  Since I began sewing for Days for Girls, I look at my stash (and any fabric, actually) in a completely different light.

We'd love your donations, if they meet these guidelines:

Because of cultural considerations, it is requested that we not use fabric that contains the following images/designs:  people, animals, camouflage, war, glam, knives or anything culturally specific.

All material should be new, washed and dried.  Pressed would be greatly appreciated, too!

FOR THE SHIELDS:

We use good quality, tightly woven quilting-weight cotton, medium to dark prints/designs in busy patterns.  They should be good at hiding the inevitable stains.

These shields are made of appropriate fabrics:

FOR THE BAGS:

Please use quality tightly-woven quilting-weight cotton.  Avoid light colors that would show dirt.  The girls use these every day, so this is where we should use our most attractive fabrics.

These fabrics make appealing bags:

FOR THE LINERS:

The liners are made out of top-quality cotton flannel.  Quilt shops carry good quality flannel, but unfortunately, JoAnn Fabrics' flannels are thinner than ideal.  The flannel should be machine washed and dried on hot before cutting, to maximize absorbency.  Please select only medium/dark to dark colors.  Busy prints also help to hide stains.

These flannels are dark or busy enough to be appropriate for the liners:

If you would like to cut and sew at home, the templates, measurements and instructions are on the Days for Girls website.  There are also several helpful video tutorials.  Click on "Volunteer," then "Make Kits."  You're also welcome to do any part at home, and continue on one of our sewing days, if that works best for you.  Or just join us on a sewing day.  Or just sew at home.  It is all greatly appreciated!

We're always ready to help you.
Feel free to send your questions to eugeneOR@daysforgirls.org

Other Needs

What actually is in these life-changing kits?

Each girl receives a pretty drawstring bag that contains:

2 cotton shields with moisture-barrier lining

8 trifold flannel liners

1 pair of underpants

1 washcloth

2 Ziploc gallon-size freezer baggies

1 travel-sized bar of soap

Obviously, the more people we have making the shields, liners and bags, the better.  But equally important are donations of the other items in the kit:

Panties--girls' sizes 10-16, in cotton or cotton blend.  Any style except bikini or thong.  Non-white is preferred.

Washcloths--Terrycloth or knitted or crocheted.  Non-white is preferred.  (Fred Meyer currently has 12-packs for $5. through 7/19/14.  The purple would hide stains well!)

Ziploc brand gallon-sized freezer baggies.  Not the slider style.  The best price I've seen (so far) locally is a box of 30 for $4.48 at Walmart, which works out to just under 15 cents per bag.

Soaps--small hotel-size soaps.  Please ask all your friends to save them for us when they travel.

If you'd like to make a cash donation, that's wonderful!  It would be used to buy supplies needed to complete the kits or pay for any postage when we have to ship them.  

JOIN US!

The next Eugene/Springfield Days for Girls group sewing day is Sunday, July 20th.  We'll meet at Our Sewing Room at 5th and Main in Springfield, from 10 am to 4 pm.  Join us for as much of that time as you can.

We will be working on making bags, shields and liners.

You can bring your sewing machine or use one that will be available there.

We will need people to sew, serge, cut, press, etc.  We'll be happy to show you what needs to be done!

http://daysforgirls.org has lots of information and new videos on making the different components of a kit.  Check it out.

Bring a lunch, if you'd like, or grab something at one of the many restaurants nearby.

Email us with any questions:  eugeneOR@daysforgirls.org