Caring For Her Community One Stitch at a Time

When local community members can’t afford to purchase new clothing, they can always turn to the Clothes Closet at NCSD’s Wichita Center for Family & Community, where racks of donated jackets, sweatshirts, jeans, shoes, and even baby clothes are always available every week.

But now when mom’s favorite jacket has a torn pocket, or there’s a hole in a child’s favorite hoodie, they can turn to Wichita volunteer Karen Lehman. The retired Special Education professional loves to lend a hand (actually both hands) when visitors’ clothes are literally hanging on by a thread.

“I have been sewing since I was 10 and quilting since I was 25,” said the smiling seamstress. “This is something I’ve been wanting to do for about five years, and once I retired, I finally had the time.”
After 45 years in education, Lehman says volunteering at the Wichita Center is the perfect way for her to mend her sewing talents with a desire to give back to her community. After closely following the center's activities on social media, she decided to contact Wichita's volunteer coordinator.  "I got the green light and started mending two months ago."  

With sewing kit in hand, Lehman has been on the job one day per month, but is hoping to double that time in the near future.  "I hope that as more people see me working, they’ll spread the word. I call it positive gossip—someone telling their friends, ‘Oh, this lady fixed my pants!’”

But Lehman is quick to point out that fixing pants-- or any piece of clothing-- isn't as easy as it might sound.  While some repairs are pretty straightforward, others require some seriously steady stitching. 

“Last week, I worked on a jacket where the pockets were sewn wrong. I had to rip them off, iron them flat, and resew them, which took about two hours because of the tricky material.”

Whether reattaching rips, stitching seams, or binding blankets, Lehman’s sewing skills provide a vital resource for families who may not have access to sewing machines or professional alterations.
“If you take clothes to a professional alteration shop, it can cost a lot of money,” she said. “Here, I’m free, and I like to think I know what I’m doing after 60 years of experience.”

Lehman certainly knows what she's doing, and is hoping the community gets to know more about her and her unique sewing service the more she volunteers.  As she sums up…kids fall down, clothes rip, and that’s okay—she’s always ready to help.

“I’m very happy to be here,” she said. “I consider it an honor to help families who may not have access to this kind of service. If I can make a small difference in someone’s life, then it’s worth it.”

The happy retiree is already making a big difference…one small stitch at a time.