Our Mission
The Sewing Machine Project, Inc. (SMP), a qualified s.501(c)(3) organization, was formed in 2005 for the purpose of collecting donated new and used sewing machines to distribute to individuals and groups in communities in distress as a result of natural disasters or poverty conditions. We call this “mending communities”. The Project supports the recipients with sewing and small business education, opening new opportunities for small business development, creative growth and community service. Since 2005 we have distributed over 900 sewing machines, helping people become self-sustaining through sewing. We have worked extensively in the Gulf Coast region, and in Mexico, Kosovo and Sri Lanka, helping people in those areas to start small collectives and improve their lives through the art of sewing. Our recipients are strongly encouraged to say thank you by “paying it forward” in a sewing-related way. This facet of the SMP supports the community and also reminds the recipients that despite their own difficult circumstances, they as individuals are important and capable of making a positive difference in their community, giving them a renewed feeling of self-worth.
Community is important no matter where you live. The mission of the Sewing Machine Project is to give people a tool that will not only help them mend their own lives but also will give them a way to take an active role in the rebuilding of their community. People grow strong and their community grows strong as well.
About Us
The Sewing Machine Project was conceived in March, 2005, following the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia. A BBC article on the internet gave painful details about a woman who had lost her sewing machine in the storm, a machine she’d saved for years to buy, and, in losing it, she lost her means of earning an income. Margaret Jankowski, the founder of The Sewing Machine Project, began collecting donated sewing machines here in Wisconsin and shipping them to Sri Lanka. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in September 2005 The Sewing Machine Project’s focus shifted to that region. From 2006 to the present days, we have delivered sewing machines to individuals, schools and community centers in the greater New Orleans area. People are using them not only to rebuild their lives but also to start small sewing-related businesses.
The Sewing Machine Project now operates on a local, national and international level. Women’s sewing cooperatives in Kosovo, Mexico, Sri Lanka and Liberia are working with Sewing Machine Project machines. We continue our work in the Gulf Coast region as they continue to rebuild. Locally, we offer the Sewing Shares Lending Library, making sewing machines available on loan to community groups who do not have the resources to purchase machines. Additionally, in Dane County, we work with the newly immigrated Bhutanese community, offering sewing lessons and tools to create connections and to offer hope and possibility as they integrate into our community.
I am proud of this effort. I work with an amazing board of directors and many volunteers and together, we realize the dream of The Sewing Machine Project and offer that dream to those who need it for healing. Everything we do is done with love for I believe that in the end, love is the most powerful force that will change the world.
~Margaret Jankowski
