ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) -- Connecting communities across the Greater Rochester region and the world, one stitch at a time. Local teens are making clothes this holiday season to further their mission of spreading joy and service to anyone they can reach. "Every little thing is meaningful," says Sammy Shevchuk, a senior at Webster Thomas High School and a member of the Titan Service Scholars. Webster Central School District students can elect for the Titan Service Scholars curricular program that teaches emotional connection through service projects all over the region. The students gathered at Immanuel Lutheran Church along with members of Kindred Spirits, a community group of women dedicated to service for women in underserved countries. While many teens shared they'd never even touched a sewing machine before, they were eager to learn to make dresses for young girls in the Dominican Republic.  "We're thrilled to align with this wonderful group of young people," says Linda MacArthur, the leader of Kindred Spirits. "Many of us are teachers, we're grandmothers, and we love to share our experience and perhaps plant the seed of how wonderful it is to sew and to give back." "One of the most rewarding parts about service is the people that you affect and the people that you are helping. These dresses, like, they really make an impact on these girls' lives," adds Tessa Bartlett, a junior at Webster Thomas High School. In fact, many of these young humanitarians visited the Dominican Republic over their recent summer break and met the young ladies there who were suffering from poverty, disease, and at risk from predators without proper clothing.  The teens say the items they’re making feel like wrapping a friend in both kindness and protection. "Some of us have formed relationships with very specific kids, and when we are going there and giving gifts and giving them clothing, seeing those smiles on their faces is just something you can’t get anywhere else. You understand the process and you understand the problems for all these kids. It’s awakening," says senior student, Trevor Heaphy. "I feel strongly that where empathy lives is where judgment is suspended. When we can really do that and we can feel vulnerable far from home and we can unpack some of those things that we’ve been carrying and also understand the lived experience of someone else, we can come home and say, hey I see that issue here," says Felice Prindle, the Titan Service Scholars coordinator and one of the school's counselors. The scholars participate in several projects every month serving the Rochester community with another international trip planned in December when they’ll hand deliver their generous garb to their friends who need them.  "I feel like going lit a flame in me. It kind of ensured that service would be part of my life forever," adds Sammy.