Medina Chapter Featured in the Medina Gazette

Feature Article

MEDINA — A Northeast Ohio nonprofit has expanded to Medina County, encouraging crafters to create items that will then go to local charities in need of donations.

Sew4Service is comprised of people who sew, quilt, crochet and knit. The organization accepts donations of supplies and equipment, which are then made into handmade items and donated to local charities.

The nonprofit was founded in August 2021, and its first sewing studio opened in Wickliffe in November 2022. It has since grown, with chapters open in Cuyahoga, Medina, Stark and Summit counties.

Medina Chapter Coordinator Kim Pless started learning how to quilt about a year and a half ago. After making quilts for all her children and grandchildren, Pless decided she wanted to keep going and make more for others.

“I started looking around for places that might want to take the quilts I was making, and I found Sew4Service,” she said.

Pless started volunteering at the Lakewood chapter. During that time, she told the nonprofit’s founder she’d be interested in running a chapter.

When the space opened up at the Common Ground, 220 N. State Road, Pless was asked if she wanted to be a part of it. The space opened about two months ago.

Pless said they’ve started working with a women’s shelter, providing handmade items for women transitioning out of the shelter. In addition to the women’s shelter, Pless is looking for other local charities to work with.

The storefront at the Common Ground provides the nonprofit a space to collect donations like fabric, yarn, and other related items. The donated items are then either sold at affordable prices or used by volunteers to create handmade items for charities.

Additionally, there is a classroom space for volunteers to teach classes of things like crochet, knitting and beginner sewing.

As Pless works to establish the chapter, she’s looking for interested volunteers, donations, and charities interested in partnering up.

“As a crafter, I think not only do we like to make things, but we like people to have things,” Pless said. “It makes us feel good to put energy and time into something that someone else will appreciate.”

To learn more about Sew4Service and Medina’s planned events, visit www.sew4service.org.

Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.