Sew4Service, a local charity which has seven chapters including one in Euclid’s Shore Cultural Centre, was recently given a $10,000 anonymous donation from a local volunteer to help give back to those that need a little help with their loose threads. Known in Euclid for its fabric stash store located in the Shore Cultural Centre, the organization provides charity kits for people to assemble at home as well as classes on site on different sewing methods and even detailed instructions on sewing machines that might have been kept in the closet, separated from their instruction manual, for a generation. Lucy Kulbago, the founder of Sew4Service, said that a volunteer donated the money through a family foundation based in Appleton, Wisconsin. Although the foundation is states away, the anonymous volunteer was involved at a local level, even hand-making items that were later donated. “It was a donation from one of our volunteers and she has attended many of our sewing classes,” Kulbago said. “She has donated some handmade items that she has made. She has access to family foundation funds and it’s through the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, so it’s not local, but she is local.” “Some of the funds will be used as matching funds through the Ohio Arts Council which offers free studio classes for sewing and hand embroidery stitching so those can be free to people who are attending,” Kulbago said. “The grant from the Ohio Arts Council (will) try and expand these programs to buy new sewing machines and other supplies that are needed.” According to Sew4Service’s website, the organization took over responsibility of a community open studio in the Malachi Center in Cleveland, and the space now provides “sewing, crocheting, and mending programs to local low income and unhoused community members.” With a sewing teacher on hand, members of the community can learn how to mend buttons, zippers and hems, keeping clothes going for longer and reducing waste. Kulbago said that she wants to expand that format to other chapters and the donated money will help bring that goal to fruition. “That’s been going on for many years, people can come in and use the sewing machines and the space and there will be a sewing teacher there to help them with their projects,” Kulbago said. “We are trying to expand that to our project here at Euclid and our other location in Alliance. She said that the Euclid chapter is also being expanded to include hand stitching and embroidery, which besides fixing clothes and giving people a creative aspect can also help build community ties that go beyond the walls of the center. “A lot of people will point to that a lot of these things came up because people were at home and looking for creative outlets,” Kulbago said. “I’ve also heard people talk about the realization for the need for community and not just doing these things in isolation but doing them with other people. I guess you can call it a resurgence, but I think it’s always been there. “I think more young people are pursuing it despite it not being offered in many schools it’s still a good creative outlet but also has many practical applications.” Information on the different chapters and the services they offer can be found at www.sew4service.org