Tucson sew-a-thon to benefit foster children

A tradition 25 years in the making, the annual event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 at Christ Presbyterian Church, 6565 E. Broadway.

“The Sew-A-Thon is one of my favorite things. We started it when I was working at Child Protective Services because children had to pack all their belongings in black trash bags when they were being removed from their homes or moving from one foster home to another. When you walked into some of the group homes, it looked like garbage day because there were so many bags lined up. The kids had no dignity,” said Punske, who brainstormed with co-workers to find a solution.

They settled on duffle bags because they are collapsible, easy to transport in trunks of cars and inexpensive to make. Since Punske is not a seamstress, she took on the task of organizing volunteers for a day of sewing at the Division of Developmental Disabilities, which provided sewing machines. Volunteers collected fabric and enlisted family and friends to help with cutting and sewing.

“We arrived that morning and lots of people showed up to volunteer. We were overwhelmed and underprepared, but was a great day and the Sew-A-Thon was born,” Punske said.

Within a decade, Aviva came on board, providing administrative support, assistance with storage and collection of fabric, and volunteer coordination. A subsidiary of the Easterseals Blake Foundation, Aviva fulfilled emergency needs for more than 3,700 children in foster and kinship care through the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) annually. The nonprofit serves children from newborn to age 18.

The endeavor has grown into an assembly-line-style production: some volunteers sew the bags from material that has been pre-cut by other volunteers, while additional volunteers thread cords through bags and assist with lunch, moving product and affiliated tasks. Last year nearly 200 volunteers worked together made 2,801 duffle bags in one day.

“Today it is a tremendous community event that brings so many people in the community together. We have volunteers who say, ‘I don’t have money to give, but I have time and I can sew.’ This is their way to contribute,” said Punske, who has continued as a volunteer since she retired a few years ago.

Equally important is promotion of awareness about the foster care system and the opportunity to send a positive message to the children, according to Punske.

“When we told one little boy to choose a duffle bag, he asked where it came from. I said, ‘There are people in the community who care about you.’ He said, ‘Do you mean to tell me that someone made these just for me?’ That spirit of support and the message that people care about them is just as important as the bags,” Punske said.

The annual event also helps to bring attention to children in foster and kinship care (the care of extended family members or friends), according Olivia Bruntmyer, engagement coordinator with Aviva Children’s Services.

She also wants to continue to improve outreach about the bags that Aviva supplies to officers with Arizona DCS.

“The state really tries to make sure that removal is needed for children and there are lots of children in kinship care who we also want to support since families are usually not prepared to take on kids. The need for bags is still there. We still hear about kids who have to use trash bags to move their belongings. This is one of those things you have to keep talking about to make sure that people know there is an alternative, which is the bags made at this event,” Bruntmyer said.

The bags often have a long shelf life for these children and youth, according to Punske.

She cited a story about a sewing volunteer who went to a laundromat to launder fabric for the sew-a-thon in a large capacity washing machine.

“There was a young man there doing his laundry and he was using a duffle bag that was made from fabric that she recognized. The duffles are really brilliant. Kids can pick one they like and they are easy to transport and can be used for different things. It is just a great message for these foster kids who are living away from their families,” Punske said.

Spreading awareness about the needs of children in foster and kinship care in the community is also a priority for Donny Cathey, owner of Cathey’s Sewing and Vacuum. Cathey, who serves as master of ceremonies at the event, has supported the sew-a-thon for the past decade.

“It tugged on my heartstrings. What they are doing is wonderful and the sew-a-thon was a natural fit for us to come in and help,” said Cathey, a father of five.

He provides lunch and prizes for the volunteers at the event, and many of his customers and employees volunteer to sew. Additionally, he supplies extra sewing machines and a mechanic to repair machines on the spot of needed.

Ultimately, Cathey believes — from both business and personal perspectives — that the efforts are making a difference in the lives of local children in need.

“Without the support of the community, we wouldn’t have a business. My parents started Cathey’s in 1954 and I have had my own store since 1978, so we have been a part of the fabric of the Tucson community for a very long time. It is exceptionally important to give back and support the charities that we feel most tied to and I challenge any company to do the same,” Cathey said.