Somewhere in their homes, most people have an old and unwanted sewing machine.
Maybe the old machine has been passed down through generations of seamstresses, quilting is a forgotten hobby or the machine was an undesired gift. Delmar resident Charlie Hughes is now working to collect these old machines to help provide a better life for impoverished people around the world.
“People do one of two things,” said Hughes. “They throw out their old machines (instead of donating it) because they have a nice new one or they have an old one they refuse to get rid of because it has emotional value. I’m also guilty of this. I have a machine in my cellar that belonged to my late wife’s mother, but it’s still functional and workable so I’m finally going to give it away.”
Since 1999 the not-for-profit organization Pedals for Progress has collected old sewing machines to help provide people in need with a self-sustaining occupation. The group also collects old bicycles to be donated to developing counties where they are still needed for transportation.
Altogether, Pedals for Progress has collected and distributed over 130,000 bicycles in its 20-year history. Last year, Hughes collected 200 bikes through the help of the congregation of St. Vincent de Paul in Albany. Those bikes were sent to the East African country of Tanzania.
The bikes and often the sewing machines aren’t actually given away to people. They have to be purchased them from a local agency distributing the items at market price. This serves not only to stimulate the local economy but also to strengthen the groups Pedals for Progress works with because those who pay for the items value them more.
“We say the bikes allow someone to get to a job, while with sewing machines provide the job, said Beverly Merchant, a spokeswoman for the Pedals for Progress organization of New Jersey.
Merchant said collecting old sewing machines is harder than collecting old bikes. The group is looking for portable sewing machines in working condition that are electric. The older, manual pedal machines will sometimes be taken if they are in prime condition.
“There are fewer in our country that are in working condition,” she said. “With the bikes, people overseas can repair them, while a lot of times the sewing machines people need to have parts.”
Hughes, who has been volunteering with Pedals for Progress for eight years, said learning the sewing skill or trade is important in developing countries where there are often not stores for people to shop in. Also most of the children are required to wear uniforms to go to school and without a store or someone to make the uniform, they cannot attend.
Merchant agreed.
“Home sewing businesses are important because most people can’t afford a professionally made uniform,” she said.
The organization has now sent nearly 2,000 sewing machines to 13 different countries.
A consortium of Albany churches, including St. Vincent de Paul, All Saints Catholic Church and the Parish of Mater Christi, are now working through Hughes to hopefully collect 100 sewing machines this summer. On two Saturdays, June 2 and June 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the machines can be brought to St. Vincent de Paul on Madison Avenue in Albany. $10 donations will be accepted to cover shipping costs to other countries. A truck will then arrive to bring all of the machines to the organization’s headquarters in New Jersey.
“These donations will truly help the better the lives of thousands,” said Merchant.
To learn more, visit www.p4p.org.
