Members: You are welcome to work on any community service project that you wish. A project
could be creating costumes for your child’s school play, sewing curtains for your church’s nursery,
making walker totes for a senior citizen center, etc. Please send us your hours and a description of the
project so we may report them to national ASG. If you have any questions, please
contact the Community Service Chair.
Community Service
We are proud to support our community through sewing. We participate in Houston-based projects as well
as the American Sewing Guild’s national community service project. To see the handiwork of our talented members,
check out our Photos.
2012 The Blanket Project
The goal of this year’s national community service project is to provide warmth and comfort
to those most in need of it. The Blanket Project (PDF),
which is being led by our Houston chapter,
includes three types of blankets:
- Lap blankets for hospice patients
- Lap blankets for veterans (VA hospitals or other veterans service programs)
- Receiving blankets for babies (indigent families)
Each ASG chapter will make blankets for its own community. Our chapter has
partnered with the Harris County Hospital District
(Ben Taub and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital) to provide lap blankets for their oncology patients.
The blankets will be part of the Compassionate Care Project that serves the terminally ill.
Pictured (L-R): Martha Ramey, JoAnn Goodie, RN (Compassionate Care Coordinator
6A/6B), Juanita Bynum, Phyllis Finger and Jennifer Barnes, director, Volunteer
& Guest Services (photo source)
For more infomation, please view the blanket instructions (PDF). If you have any questions, contact our
Community Service Chair.
Past Projects
For more information about these past projects, visit ASG.com.
2011 Painted Turtle Pillows
The 2011 national community service project was the Painted Turtle Pillow. The pillows were sent
to the Painted Turtle Camp, which is dedicated to children with life-threatening illnesses.
2011 Cool Ties
In addition to the national project, our chapter worked on a local project making
Cool Ties (PDF). These ties are
strips of fabric with a sealed pocket in the middle that holds polymer crystals.
Recipients dip the ties in cold water or chill the soaked ties in the
refrigerater, and the water-filled crystals stay cool for hours (when the head
and neck are cool, the rest of the body is cool, too). Project leader Nancy Maranto worked with Meals on Wheels
to distribute the Cool Ties to Houstonians who lacked air conditioning, giving them some welcome relief from the
blistering summer heat.
2010 U.S. Troops Drawstring Bag
The 2010 national community service project was drawstring bags for Operation Care Package,
which were filled and mailed to U.S. Troops.
2009 Pillowcases for Ronald McDonald House
The 2009 national community service project was pillowcases for sick children and their families.
We made them in children’s prints and bright colors and donated them to local Ronald McDonald Houses.
2008 Anti-Ouch Pouch
The 2008 national community service project was the Anti-Ouch Pouch, a pillow that hangs from the shoulder and
fits snugly under the arm to cushion the area after breast surgery or during radiation treatment.
It was developed by Deon Maas and is dedicated to her mother, Doris Lock, who taught her to sew.