Maria* is sitting in a chair just outside of the door of her bright blue house in the Dominican Republic. A breeze sweeps by as she watches her two young children run up the street heading to school in their three-sizes-too-small school uniforms. She’s in her early thirties, and has been married for a couple of years. But, her husband is away most of the time. 

As her kids turn the corner up the road, she heads inside, brushes past their cinderblock wall, and goes to the kitchen. With a sigh, she looks at the empty shelves of the cupboard, and the dwindling fresh fruit on the countertop. She will have to go to the store today, meaning she will have to buy a bus ticket, figure out what she can afford at the store, and buy another bus ticket home. 

She sighs again, at the seemingly impossible task for the day. 

You see, their family, like many families in the Caribbean, has been affected by vast unemployment. As much as she would like to work, Maria cannot find a dignifying job, and must spend the day scraping together what they have to wash their clothes and make meals.

She has witnessed friends suffer and sacrifice in their less-than-dignifying jobs, giving up their bodies so they can have just enough to support their families. She doesn’t want to do that too, but as there are more and more days where food isn’t on the shelves, that reality seems closer.

Her husband spends the week away, accepting any work he can. He comes home on the weekends to share the little income he brought in so they can buy the necessities - food, water, hygiene essentials.

They live like this day-to-day, and it’s getting harder.

A few weeks later, Maria is at her breaking point, thinking there is no way but down a path where she will have to sacrifice parts of herself, her dignity, and her freedom. 

But, through the church she attends, she is put in contact with a local organization who teaches women life skills. The class she signs up for: sewing. 

She begins taking the classes, and learns how to sew on an old treadle machine - which is perfect because electricity in the area is spotty. She is able to make new school outfits for her kiddos, and a beautiful new yellow dress … It's been a long time since she’s had something this nice and new. 

She graduates from the class, and is given a sewing machine of her own. She immediately puts it to use. 

Now, after Maria kisses her kids goodbye and watches them run to school in outfits that fit, she goes inside with a smile on her face. The shelves of her cupboards are empty today, so she collects the handmade items she’s been working on - a few outfits for small children, a few cloth bags, and a couple of blankets. She stuffs them into her bag, and heads into town. 

She is able to sell what she has made, collecting more than enough money for the groceries she needs and her bus rides. 

Maria gets home, unloads her bag, now filled with fresh fruit, rice, and vegetables, and begins cooking dinner for her family. 

Although it’s a Tuesday, her husband will join them tonight. With Maria’s income, he has been able to cut down working to 10 hours a day, allowing him to be home to spend precious time with his family in the evenings. 

This sewing machine - an everyday item for us in the United States - has transformed this family’s life.

In the United States, most households have one (or two, or three) sewing machines. Many have been passed down from generation to generation, until they become antiques on a shelf or clutter filling a box in a dusty basement. 

Sewing machines and the ability to sew are privileges we don’t realize we take for granted. For many of us, sewing is a fun hobby, a useful tool we learned early on from our mothers, or a means to create a gift to share. 

For many in developing countries, they don’t have access to sewing machines, and if they do, it’s their means for making a living. The story above is fictional, but is a depiction of the reality many live, and how receiving a sewing machine can change their life. 

At Midwest Mission, we collect and refurbish sewing machines that have found their way to be antiques on shelves or evidence of old hobbies. Sewing machines that might not be useful to you can change someone’s life. 

Through our partner Food For The Poor, we send electric and treadle sewing machines, so they can distribute them to partners who teach women how to sew. 

In a recent partner report from the Dominican Republic, Food For The Poor’s In-Country Partner Representative shared this:



“The sewing machines and fabric were provided to women whose lives have been transformed with the means to earn a living. They were ecstatic to see that they now owned their own machine.”

Your old sewing machine can make an impact like this. 



If you have one to donate, you can bring it to Midwest Mission, or a Permanent Collection Site near you. For more information on donating items, click here. 

*Maria is a fictional character in this story. This story is not based on one true story, but is a depiction of what receiving a sewing machine can do, based on reports and information we have received from our partners.

Recently, Chantel Corrie (Executive Director) and Brad Walton (Operations Manager) traveled to Bloomington-Normal, IL to tour Midwest Food Bank, learn about what they do, and see how we could partner together. 

Through conversation, Chantel and Brad learned that Midwest Food Bank had a few items in their warehouses that they didn’t have a need for, but would be of great use to Midwest Mission.

On Monday, February 27, Midwest Food Bank’s semi-truck rolled onto the Midwest Mission Campus, and our operations team unloaded the container. 

We received:

• About 1,000 gallons of laundry detergent that we can put in smaller bottles
• 3,450 buckets with lids that we can send through Food For The Poor’s Angels of Hope program and use for our Home Care Kits
• 20 empty gaylords

Thank you, Midwest Food Bank, for the generous donations. 

We are excited to see how this partnership develops, and how our two nonprofits can help one another fulfill their missions.

Midwest Mission 2022 Impact Video

Helpful Links

• to donate: midwestmission.org/donate
• to see Personal Dignity Kit list: click here
• to buy items and have them sent to Midwest Mission: click here

Midwest Mission Weekly Projects

Work of the Mission Volunteers

Projects completed

• 170 Student Kits
• 1,040 Personal Dignity Kits
• 96 Birthing Kits
• 18 Desks
• 5,300 Rice Meals - 4,800 at New Concord UMC, New Concord, OH - 500 at Aledo UMC, Aledo, IL

Other work done

• Bikes repaired
• Sewing machines repaired
• Desks built, polyurethaned
• Sewing one-handled bags

Disbursements

• St. Martin de Porres, Springfield, IL: Redirect cleaning supplies, hygiene supplies, linens, and food Value: $4,476.00
• Salvation Army, Springfield, IL: Redirect food (MREs) Value: $3,835.00
• Maryville Food Pantry, Maryville, IL: Redirect hygiene supplies Value: $246.00

Midwest Mission is able to do this work because of your generous donations and willingness to volunteer. Thank you!



Ready to Get Involved?

Schedule Your Mission Journey

Dates are available in 2023 and 2024

Need a Saturday option for team volunteering

or assistance in booking?

Contact Pat Wright at pat@midwestmission.org

or 217-697-4063

Click below to check calendar openings and to reserve your spots.

Volunteer Reservation Calendar

Chuck & Karen Porter

Brighton, IL

Brett and Kristi Ahrens

Stratford, IA

Bloomfield UMC

Bloomfield, IA

Sew Much Joy

Glen Carbon, IL