Knitters @ Chicago Inner-City HS
Donation protected
“This is what it feels like when love is in charge!"
BT Lives in the Stitch is an after-school club at North Lawndale College Prep (NLCP), which serves primarily students from low income areas on Chicago’s West Side. We teach students how to knit and provide a safe place for knitters to hang out, find inner peace and build self-esteem - and so much more. We’d be grateful if you’d read and watch our story and consider a donation to help us maintain and grow our program.
BT Lives in the Stitch is open to any student interested in learning a new skill. Advisor Dorothea Tobin not only teaches students how to knit, but also educates them in fundamentals of the working world and developing business acumen, as students are paid for their creations. The more time spent knitting, the more money the students make, and the more prepared they are for life outside of high school.
While BT Lives in the Stitch (named by students in honor of Dorothea’s late son, Billy Tobin) teaches students new skills, it’s also instrumental in helping them develop self-esteem. There’s tremendous pride that comes from making beautiful creations with your own hands and then having people interested in buying, and wearing, what you made.
This program means so much to so many students; one even wrote his college admissions essay about what BT Lives in the Stitch means to him. We’re looking to maintain it and expand it through donations, which will be used for the following:
* Buying materials like knitting needles and high-quality yarn, which is so important in helping students create quality goods; that really inspires them. While we do get some product donations, currently, Dorothea is funding much of this out of her own pocket.
* Continuing to pay the students for their work. Their pay is based on meeting product goals, and then some of our funding comes from selling their creations.
* Costs associated with expanding the enterprise, like building a new website and setting up an online store.
The team at Small Forces (smallforces.org ) put together a short film that tells our story. We encourage you to watch it below and consider supporting our work through a monetary gift, sharing this campaign with your friends, or both.
Thank you for your support of our program!
BT Lives in the Stitch is an after-school club at North Lawndale College Prep (NLCP), which serves primarily students from low income areas on Chicago’s West Side. We teach students how to knit and provide a safe place for knitters to hang out, find inner peace and build self-esteem - and so much more. We’d be grateful if you’d read and watch our story and consider a donation to help us maintain and grow our program.
BT Lives in the Stitch is open to any student interested in learning a new skill. Advisor Dorothea Tobin not only teaches students how to knit, but also educates them in fundamentals of the working world and developing business acumen, as students are paid for their creations. The more time spent knitting, the more money the students make, and the more prepared they are for life outside of high school.
While BT Lives in the Stitch (named by students in honor of Dorothea’s late son, Billy Tobin) teaches students new skills, it’s also instrumental in helping them develop self-esteem. There’s tremendous pride that comes from making beautiful creations with your own hands and then having people interested in buying, and wearing, what you made.
This program means so much to so many students; one even wrote his college admissions essay about what BT Lives in the Stitch means to him. We’re looking to maintain it and expand it through donations, which will be used for the following:
* Buying materials like knitting needles and high-quality yarn, which is so important in helping students create quality goods; that really inspires them. While we do get some product donations, currently, Dorothea is funding much of this out of her own pocket.
* Continuing to pay the students for their work. Their pay is based on meeting product goals, and then some of our funding comes from selling their creations.
* Costs associated with expanding the enterprise, like building a new website and setting up an online store.
The team at Small Forces (smallforces.org ) put together a short film that tells our story. We encourage you to watch it below and consider supporting our work through a monetary gift, sharing this campaign with your friends, or both.
Thank you for your support of our program!
Organizer and beneficiary
Small Forces
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Dorothea Tobin
Beneficiary