Introduction:

Before the funding investment, we ran 2 free weekly “pop-up” sewing clubs and a pilot “pay to come ” sewing café evening”. The difference the clubs were making to members’ health, wellbeing, self-esteem and aspiration resulted in our ambition to develop into a social enterprise. To have the most impact on people’s lives, we wanted it to be run by our members, for our members. We want to ensure that it will become an increasingly exciting place to be a part of and grow to be accessible to as many as possible.

The Clubs are attended by people who are unable to work due to long term illness or unemployment, disabled, recently retired, redundant and older persons suffering or at risk of mental health issues including those most isolated in our communities. Some attend our pay-for workshops who often work full time. All ages attend, however around 60% are over 50s.

Basic skills through to advanced dressmaking skills can be learned. People can participate at any level; the aim is to build up confidence and commitment to support others or our project or enough to be able to relax and achieve their own goals, as appropriate. We rely on passionate and semi skilled crafters / volunteers to share their skills. 90% of the textiles we use are recycled, donated and freely available. Ensuring that we develop creativity around recycling is paramount. We intend to encourage families and others on low incomes to benefit from this creativity to help to sustain themselves.

We needed equipment and support to develop and run our free sewing and craft workshops to enable them to be run in other neighbourhoods. We needed to find ways to encourage skilled and passionate volunteers to help run the free clubs. We intended the different clubs in neighbourhood venues and our “premium sewing café night” to become key to our sustainability by helping to develop other projects and services.

What we spent the money on!

With the £10,000 funding we were awarded we have spent £11,957.34 which was put towards sewing equipment, fashion rails and sewing machine repairs, furnishings, the cost of storage space, conference room hire, stationery, and fuel. The additional funds invested are from earning from contracts with schools and agencies.

What we achieved!

The funds enabled us to set up a further 5 free sewing clubs. Following the funding, we are now a small social enterprise. Today, The Sewing Club provides 7 weekly free “pop up” sewing workshop, plus 1 weekly “premium “Sewing Café Evening” when we buy in the services of a highly qualified tutor to inspire our volunteer leaders and customers. (Individual clubs cover their costs with teas coffees and raffles).

Volunteer Investment: 12 volunteer leaders and supporters invest regularly upto 80 hours a week working in the project. Some volunteers 3 days a week, at several locations. According to the national rate for volunteers @ £11/hour this investment equates to £880 per week.

Members engagement has gone from 50 to between 70 to 90 people each week. We have been able to develop our “premium” sewing café club at Open Door Health Centre and a new stylish “Sewing Room” at Centre4, Nunsthorpe, both in our most challenging neighbourhoods in NE Lincolnshire.

Members Empowered and Run Their Own Sewing Clubs Our workshops are now run by members who are now leaders. We have invested in a tutor and gained other funds from our local authority to run professional tutor-led workshops. This has developed confidence in our leaders. Some now perform demonstrations in front of a dozen people, when before, they were extremely shy and had low self esteem.

Improvement in Skills and Employability 2 members in who are young mothers (one of 6 children and the other with one child) are now taking fashion and textile courses at our local university, inspired by being involved with The Sewing Club. One volunteer club leader for one year, is now working to Level 3 in Textiles to enable her to do her PGCE next year. They say they would not have considered this without The Sewing Club. One lady in her 60s started her own catering business as a result of baking cakes to sell in the sewing club. Other ladies are now selling their hand made crafts, using new skills they have learned at the club.

Stylish, well equipped store and Sewing Room As a result of the Change Champion Programme support and funding, the capital equipment and storage facilities enable us to hold and distribute for recycling half a tonne of used textiles per week through creativity. With clever decoration and discounted shelving from a local business that was closing down, members & volunteers transformed the small room which has now become a dedicated sewing room and workshop.

Improved Health & Wellbeing of Members & Volunteers The funding has enabled us to add value to the services for agencies we work with, enabling patients at Open Door Health Centre to benefit from our gentle, low commitment, highly inclusive workshops. Patients report “I’m less focused on the pain”. Anxiety levels were so reduced in one patient who regularly attends, that an urgent operation postponed several times went ahead and was successful.” 4 members at our Scartho club suffer from fibromyalgia, one, 36 year old retired teacher, say that the sewing club has given her a sense of purpose and support network. They regularly meet at each others homes.

We have successfully piloted several new income streams;

  • Work with 3 local schools has led to the development of a programme of workshops which we have successfully marketed to local schools.
  • We have developed a range of handcrafted homeware and craft product to sell;
  • Delivered several family clothing swap “Swishing” Events. These are aimed at offering low income families the chance to update their wardrobes by exchanging quality, outgrown, preloved wardrobe items.
  • We have achieved regular work at local charity “Doorstep” supporting young mothers to develop their sewing skills. This has resulted in them feeling confident to leave their young children for the first time. It has helped their self esteem and socialisation. One young mum is now studying textiles at our local university which is something she would not previously have considered.
  • Paid partnership work with The Health Collaborative Team “SunSmart Campaign” also provided excellent publicity for our group and paid for storage room hire for one month.

Capital Equipment Purchases Through The Funding Permitted Dedicated Team Leader and Workshop Leaders and Work Contracts:; More equipment and a storage facility enabled a saving of several hours per week previously used transferring equipment around neighbourhoods and enabled volunteer leaders to improve the clubs. Contracts with schools and agencies would not have been possible due to lack of equipment before the funding Partnership Working Open Door Health Centre, Albion Street , Centre4 Nunsthorpe

Having 2 key bases where we store and distribute approximately one tonne of recycled textiles . Our joint working partnerships with Open Door Health Centre, (who support us by allowing us to use their facilties and storage in return for providing a free service for their clients) Centre4 Nunsthorpe and The Sewing Club has been able to support residents across mmingham Resource Centre donates space to our project and as a result of this, local ladies run the club and have supported our events throughout this year, travelling to other sewing clubs too,

Sustainability

Young People’s Create & Make Programmes – local schools

Following 6 months of active marketing and networking and successful workshop trials with 2 schools, we have recently secured a termly contract with Scartho Junior Academy and will accommodate classes of 35 students.and supporting our work in local schools, providing full class “sewing day outings” branded “Young People’s Create & Make Programmes”. More of our club members in their 50s and 60s become involved in these, as mentors. They report that their own self esteem is increased “I am proud to tell family and friends how I am supporting young people learn to sew”.

Dedicated, Equipped Sewing Room Has Led to Team Production for Sales Development

Having to cover the costs of room increased the commitment and investment of volunteers most interested in helping the project to progress. We now hold weekly “Members Crafting Days” where people can help us to design and make items for sales at craft fairs, and soon online. The Centre4 room is now fully equipped and is allowing us to develop a dynamic range of services and workshops that local people can join in and become a part of directing.

Sales Items Tested : Range of “Handmade Home & Giftware” now developed and online facebook and ebay shop soon to be launched . (Bunting, cushions)

Retail Opportunity developed with Care4all shops are in the pipeline and to be advanced.

Sales of upcycled fabric pieces at our Sewing Café nights

The Big Swish – clothes swap ; equipment from the funding has helped us develop a pop up clothes swap shop. This has great potential and we are now working with other partners to develop this.

Awards for All Funding Recently Achieved for Oct 2015 to Sept 2016: Following team meetings over the last 18 months, plans to increase potential to support more people, an idea for a unique Reward Scheme has recently had funding agreed. This will be marketed through our local school and agency networks, encouraging young people, including parents to become involved.

Did anything happen that you didn’t plan for such as – you added in something or you spread to a different topic or different area?

Paying Customers Becoming Volunteers! The funding enabled us to buy new equipment to replace second hand equipment and this encouraged confidence in our paying customers. It was always hoped that our premium workshops would encourage working people who might give their time and be generous with donations of fabrics, and this has happened and is developing with each season to the extent that customers are now fervent supporters and volunteers at our events.

The Big Swish Events: Our dressmaking Sewing Cafe workshops have attract younger people interested in fashion. We saw an opportunity to develop this further and to attract low income families at the same time. Families can swap outgrown childrens clothes or or their own fashion items at very low cost. We have had help from fashion students over the summer to manage this. Recently other partners have approached us to develop this further into a Pop Up Shop . This will help us to broaden engagement and maintain interest of our key volunteers. We plan to provide clothing alterations workshops and upcycling clothes.

Benefits of Partnership Working; Open Door Health Centre & Centre4: The development of our state of the art bases within new community centres and purchase of new sewing equipment has allowed us to provide more workshops and entice more skilled volunteers. Without the funding and support from the centres, this would not have been possible.

Change Programme Benefits: Combined with the training and networking opportunities provided by working in the Change Programme has contributed to developing and maintaining interest and teamwork. Work developed within the project has led to unprecedented investment of volunteers (around 80 hours per week by 12 key volunteers).

Awards for All 2015 – 2016 Our “Participation Points scheme” will help us to gain greater investment from existing and new volunteers and beneficiaries. The aim of the pilot reward scheme is to encourage greater engagement into our workshops and enable people with low income, low level skills, little or no work experience or low aspiration.

Participants of any background and ability will be able choose to make or retail our growing portfolio of craft products, become a mentor within our schools and agency work to build up their “points” and gain rewards. There will be more opportunities to take the lead, simply create an item with a team member, deliver demonstrations to small groups, support us to run events, (including craft fairs, schools workshops and clothing swaps) and help us to make products for any paid work we achieve.

The support of the Health Champions team and the funding has meant the difference to us being mediocre to having the potential to become a place of aspiration to local people. As a result of the funding and support and networking over the last 24 months, our sustainability is in sight and more agencies, funders and members are supporting our project. This has allowed more people to enjoy their own successes and friendships.

Website: www.port-restyle.co.uk Facebook The Sewing Club Grimsby

Difficulties we have experienced:

The creative nature of our project has meant that despite huge efforts from ourselves and Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire to gain volunteer support with administration of the project, this has been an area that has cost time and energy and we need support to find the right people to help us in this area.

Maybe a volunteer agency for marketeers/ administrators for projects such as ours would have multiple benefits!