A Proposal

Mission - to bring together local and global initiatives by providing a local youth shelter with handmade quilts while fundraising for a global NGO.

Description and rationale  

Our social action project, Sewing Patches - Sowing Progress, is aimed at tying together the local and global communities.  We will be creating 35 quilts, out of donated old clothing, for a youth shelter as a way to give back to our local community. Each quilt block will be sold in order to fundraise for a grassroots micro-finance NGO based out of sub-Saharan Africa, as a way of giving back to our global community. 

In this project we are also seeking to minimize the amount of solid waste being sent to landfills in Canada, by reusing items of clothing that are considered to be trash by their current owners, instead of purchasing new fabric. In 2002, Canadian households produced 12 million tonnes of residential solid waste, of which 18 percent was labelled other which, included old clothing (Stats Canada, 2005). That means approximately 2 160 000 tonnes, or roughly 196 364 empty school buses, of solid waste including used clothing is thrown out each year, and sadly this figure is on the rise. This social action project gives us the opportunity to basically turn trash into cash for global aid, and raise some awareness about the merits of recycling clothing. 

We selected this project based on the previous efforts of, a few of the group members when they recycled old clothing into mittens for homeless persons within Ottawa. They had found that cutting the patterns of the mittens was very time consuming and lowered the amount of mittens that they could make. Also, while making mittens different hand sizes had to be accounted for when sewing the mittens. Quilts were selected because the pattern for the quilt could be very simple to cut out, allowing for more time spent sewing. We also thought that quilts are useful, comforting, and depending on use can last for many years and therefore avoid landfills for many years. 

A micro-finance organization was selected because we feel it empowers the local community to become active participants in determining their own future.  Also, the money given to micro-finance organizations is constantly reused, after it is repaid. So, a small amount of money given can potentially still have a great impact. The grassroots organization Drombaya was selected as it is based in Ottawa, and co-founded by a University of Ottawa Faculty of Education graduate. Drombaya, while small, partners with civil society organizations (CSOs) to ensure that micro-finance is available for those who need it. By raising money for Drombaya, along with creating quilts, our group will create awareness about micro-finance and the importance it holds in helping those in extreme poverty, while allowing them to maintain their freedoms and choose their livelihoods. 

Social Action project objectives

• Raise a minimum of $500 for the micro-finance NGO, Drombaya.
• Create awareness within the University of Ottawa campus community about micro-finance.
• Donate 35 quilts to an organization with the need for quilts, either a homeless shelter or retirement home.
• Raise awareness about how clothing can be reused.  

List of deliverables for midterm appraisal

• All clothing donations will be collected,
• Advertising about the action project and NGO will be created and distributed,
• Organization where quilts will be donated will be selected,
• All fabric will be cut,
• The group will learn to sew, or improve their sewing skills. 
• ½ of the quilts will be completed.

List of deliverables for final report

• Minimum of $500 will be raised for Drombaya,
• Money will have been donated to Drombaya,
• Quilts will have been donated to a local organization,
• Informational poster about the social action project will be completed.

Tentative schedule

January 7, 2011 – First planning meeting
January 10, 2011 – Fabric donation collection, supply compiling
January 14, 2011 – Donation bin approval completed and creating/implementation of advertising materials completed, sewing machines collected for all group members
January 19, 2011 – Fundraising booths approval done, and in action
Feb. 4, 2011 – Last day for donation bin clothing collection
Feb. 4, 2011 – Organization for quilt donation selected and has been met with, in person.
Feb. 28, 2011 – Last day for monetary donations
March 7, 2011 – Quilts are completely sewn and completed
March 11, 2011 – Money is donated to Drombaya.