TREAT A FRIEND TO SIREN'S BLEND COFFEE

STARBUCKS PARTNERS WITH DAYS FOR GIRLS

In stores throughout the US, Starbucks will be announcing a new partnership to celebrate the release of their Siren's Blend coffee!!
Siren’s Blend was inspired - and created - by trailblazing women of the coffee industry. To celebrate the launch, Starbucks will be brewing and serving Siren’s Blend in all of their U.S. stores.

Now for the exciting part -- from now through Sunday, 9/29, Starbucks will contribute 15 cents for every cup of Siren’s Blend coffee purchased in participating stores, which will be split evenly between International Women’s Coffee Alliance and Days for Girls. PHENOMENAL!
We are thrilled to be selected for this partnership — and hope you will be too.

Given how amazing this is for our mission, brand and programs, we ask that you take a few minutes to spread the news to your friends & family and encourage them to go grab a cup of Siren's Blend drip coffee if they live in the US or find ways to share the news worldwide.

Supporting women around the world is as easy as drinking your morning cup of coffee! I'm SO excited to share that now through 9/29, for every cup of their brand new Siren’s Blend sold, @Starbucks will contribute to Days for Girls! Join us in our mission to turn period into pathways for every girl. everywhere. period. — just by getting a caffeine fix! Visit Starbucks today & learn more at https://www.daysforgirls.org/starbucks

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Please read this National Geographic article about how unsustainable disposable lands and tampons are.

BREAKING THE STIGMA SURROUNDING MENSTRUATION

This is a great article!

WHAT'S IN A KIT?

The leader of another chapter shared these photos of the contents of a  Days for Girls kit, which has the new transport bag instead of Ziplocs.  As mentioned earlier, Days for Girls is going green and won't be including Ziplocs after February 2020.

1 cotton drawstring bag

1 PUL transport bag

2 cotton & PUL shields

8 cotton flannel liners

1 washcloth

2 pairs of undies

1 bar of soap

1 care instructions/calendar card

QUILT SHOW

I was fortunate enough to have a Days for Girls information table at the Pioneer Quilters Unbroken Thread quilt show at the Cottage Grove Armory, September 19-21.  It is a fun old building, and the quilts and vendors were very impressive.  

Quilt shows are always good venues to find somebody's ear to bend about Days for Girls, mainly because the guests are overwhelmingly female and empathic to the plight of the girls we hope to reach, AND because the guests are already mostly people who already enjoy working/playing with fabric.

It was fun to talk about Days for Girls to new folks, and I was able to spread out all the components, articles about DFG, and information sheet.  I was delighted with the number of people expressing interest in joining our first Saturday workdays and/or making donations.  I know many of our current regulars first heard about our work when I had a table at EVQ quilt shows.

LOOPY SERGED CORNERS

This seems to be an issue for many of the sergers.  If your machine isn't happy rounding the corners on the liners and can't do it with the stitching hugging the curve, please try this method.

And remember, whichever method you use, be sure to begin on an end with double fabric, and when you've gone around, overlap that initial serging by one to two inches (you may need to disengage your knife to do this overlap).

QUALITY CONTROL

This is an important issue for me.  These kits are often the nicest things the girls have ever owned, and we want to make them as perfect as we possibly can.  I ask that people learn to sew elsewhere--not practice on our components.  We want you to quality check every item you sew, but often we catch mistakes you missed.  We want all our stitches to be exactly where and how they should be.  Our goal is for each girl to get at least 3 years of use out of her special kit, and appreciate everyone's attention to every detail.

In August, I was proud when the person receiving the 11 boxes containing 527 kits we created and sent to refugee women commented, twice, on how beautiful our kits are.  I agree, and I love that we can be proud of every aspect of them.

Today I read a post on the subject by the head of another chapter, and want to quote excerpts of that here:  

. . . loving the person who will receive the kit that I hold in my hands.  I am connected to her.  She is my neighbor living in the margins of our global society . . . . This kit is not a handout, it is not coming from my leftovers; items too used for me but good enough for her.  This kit is gift.  It cost me time and money, but I joyfully give it to my neighbor.  Because this gift is expensive I hold it carefully, I check to be sure it is perfect in every way.  I look at the stitching knowing it is my best work, my straightest stitching guided by my templates.  I choose bright cheerful colors and patterns because it will make her smile and because it will hide the stains and spare her any embarrassment.  I cut the tag out of the wash cloth, I make sure to burn the edges of the ribbon, I check to be sure there aren’t loose threads because these things can be swept away from my floor, but she does not have the luxury of a waste management system, yet still deserves to live in a clean space.  

We never aspire to "good enough."  Our goal is perfection.

NEXT WORKDAY

Mark our October 5 workday on your calendars and join us for as much time as works for you.  We're at Our Sewing Room from 10 to 4.