Gabriella
Rado, a Senior at John F. Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School in Somers and an
Ambassador Girl Scout, has founded a non-profit organization called Sew Kind
and has been teaching children to sew at the Boys and Girls Club in the City of
Newburgh during its Saturday night Star Drop-In Program.
In late October,
her program will also begin at the Boys and Girls Club in the City of
Poughkeepsie. The program was recently approved by Girl Scouts Heart of
the Hudson as a potential Gold Award Project. Gabriella’s slogan is
“Solving Problems One Stitch at a Time.” The organization’s mission is to
foster an interest in the engineering of sewing by teaching children who might
not otherwise have the opportunity to learn and to spread kindness by creating
sustainable items that fill a local need.
"When people think of engineering, they tend to think of
bridges, roadways or cars, but sewing requires a similar thought process.
You have to figure out how to solve a problem, come up with a design, and then
build it. The only difference is you're dealing with fabric,” says Rado,
who has been a Girl Scout since the age of 5, is applying to colleges and
pursuing a career in engineering. “Learning how to sew could really spark
an interest in engineering for many children--as it did for me. Girls, in
particular, are typically not groomed to think in this way."
Back in 2020 during the pandemic and while attending school
remotely, Gabriella, at just 13 years old, organized a neighborhood effort and
sewed nearly a thousand masks for healthcare workers at Westchester Medical Center, for
seniors and for the medically compromised after a local nurse expressed an
urgent need. As the desire for masks subsided last year and things slowly
began to return to normal, Gabriella says she didn't feel much like sewing
masks anymore and wanted to focus on sewing things that made people
happy. Many suggested that she start a sewing business to save money for
college, but Gabriella much preferred to sew for charity.
READ MORE: Knitting isn't just for the girls
“We’ve
had both boys and girls walk in the door and learn how to use a sewing
machine. We began making pillowcases for Mother’s Day and moved on to
making blankets for chemotherapy patients,” said Gabriella. "Many
people think that our generation has no interest in sewing and in many ways, it
is a lost art, but I believe many young people would love to learn if they only
had the opportunity. They either don't have someone in their lives to
teach them or don’t have the money to take lessons. Sewing machines can
also be unaffordable for many."
Gabriella
hopes that Sew Kind will spread to other communities. She has already
received inquiries about her program from as far away as New Jersey. In
order to make the program work, she needs veteran, experienced sewers to join
the effort and step in to help as the demand grows, particularly in the
Newburgh location. A Girl Scout Gold Award project must be sustainable—a
program that will continue--with or without Gabriella at the helm.
Sew
Kind collects monetary donations, donations of sewing materials and “like new”
machines, that will eventually be gifted to sewing students who demonstrate a
passion and desire to sew for others. For more information, to become a
volunteer sewer or to learn how you can help, visit SewKind.org or follow Sew
Kind on Instagram @SewKindNY. Sew Kind is also on Facebook.
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