Where to donate upholstery fabric near me

Where creativity meets community

Sewing for Charity Australia: Who We Are

Sewing for Charity Australia is a registered charity whose mission is to make and provide handmade items to those suffering from distress, health crisis or disadvantage and the communities that support them.

Since inception in November 2015, over 131,800 handmade items have been distributed to more than 153 organisations around Australia. We have grown from a small group in a suburb of Queensland to having volunteers and donors in every state and territory.

Sewing for Charity Australia work in partnership with established charities as well as grassroots community groups who engage in direct giving. We also donate directly to hospitals, nursing homes, schools and almost anywhere that needs some handmade love!

We are passionate about reducing textile waste and wherever possible engage in sustainable practice by upcycling used textiles and clothing to make handmade items for donation. We also accept private donations of fabrics, wool and notions from businesses and individuals thus avoiding creation of landfill.

Our central focus is and will always be community. Through sewing groups, in home visits, forum interaction and social media we reach out to isolated people nationwide to assist with removing social and physical barriers to community engagement.

With your help, we can continue to support community members nationwide to connect, learn useful skills and create with purpose.

Why We Are Different

01.

Transparency

Your trust in Sewing for Charity Australia is very important to us. We track every outgoing donation so you know exactly where your handmade love is going. Additionally, we are registered with ASIC and ACNC to ensure all information about our charity is public record.

02.

Integrity

We are honest and fair with all of our charity and community partners, our volunteers, donors and recipients. We believe everyone deserves to be treated with integrity no matter the circumstance and demonstrate this in our conduct and dealings with all people.

03.

Community

Community is at the forefront of what we do. Through events, social media, coffee mornings and more we are recreating our village and creating supportive environments for people of all ages. Sewing for Charity Australia is where community meets creativity – we come together and learn new skills and create with purpose helping not only each other, but thousands of people who are disadvantaged or in crisis in our extended communities.

04.

Social Responsibility

We behave ethically and in every action strive to benefit our local and national communities. As a not-for-profit organisation all funds raised go back into projects and supplies to enable us to continue sharing the handmade love.

Kin Dolls

What is Project Kin?

With the closure of the charity Project Kin, we are excited to announce SFCA have adopted the project and have added Play & Learn packs to our offering.

Through the donation of Play & Learn packs we will continue the Project Kin mission of educating and empowering children and their parents/ carers.

When we empower families to play and learn we create and promote healthy bonds at home which is the foundation of healthy and happy communities.We welcome all PK volunteers and supporters to our SFCA family and look forward to working with you!

What is in a Play & Learn pack?

Each pack contains high quality resources including a unique handmade doll, doll accessories, the Imagine if you had a Friend picture book, a bookmark, the Playtime at Home Parent Resource book and a calico backpack.

How can I help support the project?

Right now, we need financial donations to assist with production of resources. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. You can donate via bank transfer or PayPal which makes it super easy to help!

We also need sewists to restock our dolls, and sewists/ knitters/ crocheters to create accessories. Patterns can be found on our website under “Patterns and Files” or we can email them to you when you complete our Volunteer Registration Form which you can find below.

The Sewing Lair Founding Family

The Sewing Lair opened in Beenleigh on 15th June 2020 and has quickly become a much loved creative and inclusive community space.

We are a registered charity operated entirely by volunteers, so not only is your donation tax deductible, it goes straight where it is needed.

Everyone who visits The Sewing Lair is a part of our creative family, and we invite you to join an important part of our village – The Sewing Lair Founding Family

Donate or Request Help Today

To donate supplies or request help click here:

Highly Qualified Team

Cass Gell

Founder, Boss Lady (CEO)

I am a firm believer in community, and bringing people together. We have lost our “village” and through Sewing For Charity Australia we are recreating it.  We bring people of all ages together to create, inspire each other, talk through our issues, celebrate our joys…learn new skills and create with purpose. In doing so, not only are we helping those who are socially isolated we are also helping those who are in need of some handmade love and practical items such as toiletries, school supplies and more.

Our Volunteers

Our volunteers come from all ages and stages of life. They are the backbone of Sewing for Charity Australia and are involved in all aspects of the charity. We love our volunteers! They are the most generous, giving, kind-natured people we have ever been blessed to work with. They are super clever and creative too – they inspire the Boss Lady every day and are responsible for us donating over 60,000 handmade items to organisations Australia wide.

To become one of our volunteers head on over to Facebook and join our volunteer group. There you’ll find info on sewing days, coffee mornings and more!

What do we create?

Everything and anything handmade!

Each month (or two) we work on new items based on a theme eg baby, cancer care, sensory items, premmie baby, Christmas and more. To see these, visit our projects page.

In addition to our projects, we take requests for items from organisations and individuals.

Past requests have included:

•  G Tube covers
•  Ostomy bag covers
•  Hospital gowns and pj’s for children undergoing operations
•  Memory cushions and teddy bears for bereaved parents from their children’s clothing
•  Wheelchair covers
•  Special needs bibs for adults
•  Wheelie walker bags
• Tablecloths for aged care home

We also occasionally take on paid jobs for businesses to assist us in fundraising. All money raised goes towards courier and storage costs. If you would like to know more please contact us.

Who we support