The Sewing Center has moved from its location in the Cannon Activities Center to a more accessible and more spacious location in the Aloha Center, said the center’s staff. This new location will help both male and female students to dress modestly. Sister Linda Campbell, a senior missionary from Utah and a volunteer at the Sewing Center, said, “This new location is what is really unique about it. The students can see where it is. Before, a lot of the students had no idea where it was, or they could not find it.” She said with the new location in the Aloha Center, students can drop in and see if they need anything to be fixed or if they can fix it themselves. Sister Karla Robins, a senior missionary from Utah who volunteers at the Sewing Center, said, “First and foremost, we want the students to know that the Sewing Center is available. Also, it is not a sewing class. It is a helping service to aid the students with whatever they need and to help them do it themselves.” Robins added, “The goal is to show the students how to do it themselves. Lots of times, it is not possible because it is too complicated for a beginner; but if it is, we just help the student. And actually, there are almost as many men as women that come in.” The official mission statement of the Sewing Center, according to its website, is “to provide students and their spouses opportunities for learning by making available services and supplies to learn to become more self-reliant.” Campbell said, “Our focus is really on modesty. Students can add fabric to make things longer, fix holes, add sleeves, and more. Many students will bring clothes they received from the Give and Take and bring it to the center to mend.” There are 10 volunteers and one student worker available to assist people at the Sewing Center. Students can learn to mend their clothing to meet the standards of the dress code, as well as learn basic sewing skills. Cambria Graves, a senior from Colorado studying international cultural studies, is the student worker for the Sewing Center. She said she used to be a teaching assistant for the sewing class, and prior to that she learned how to sew as a child from her mother. “I love working here. It is so fun. For the most part all I do is mending, working on hems, and helping students with whatever they need,” said Graves. She said the added space is good because “we now have a dressing room, and the windows bring in the bright sunlight. People are always in the Aloha Center.” “All of the people who work here are super friendly and they are really good at what they do. They are all senior sister missionaries, so they have experience.” Graves said the volunteers want students to feel comfortable and are always trying to make the center better for the students they serve. “The students are so grateful and overjoyed after finishing a project, they cannot thank us enough,” said Campbell. The Sewing Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It stays open three hours later on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 8 p.m. The open house for the Sewing Center will be held on Sept. 9, and all are invited to attend.
Writer: Leslie Owusu
