Newhouse sisters Moriah (left), 10, and Bethany, 8, crotchet scarves with the Reach Out Home Arts Club for Girls.
Jordan Newhouse wants to reach out to others.
The 15-year-old Tucsonan is the founder of a sewing club for girls that meets weekly at Christ Community Church, 7801 E. Kenyon Drive, to sew items for orphanages and African missionaries. Members of the group, Reach Out Home Arts Club for Girls, will travel to an orphanage in Kenya this week to deliver the handmade goods.
Jordan and her friends are among Tucson youths who hope to make the world a better place through volunteer work.
“Children get to learn what the needs of the community are and how they can impact those needs,” said Ellen Hargis, president and CEO of the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona. “Studies show that people who volunteer when they are young continue to do so as adults.”
Parents can influence young people by volunteering as a family when the children are young, Hargis said.
“I knew it would be easier to do with other girls,” Jordan said of starting Reach Out. “There was a relative of a friend who was going to Nigeria and wanted to take quilts to kids who were getting too old to live in the orphanage. My friend knew I sewed and asked if I would be willing to make a quilt or two. I decided to get some girls together, and we made seven quilts.”
Jordan selected the name for the group from Proverbs:
“She puts her hand to the distaff, and her hands to the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.”
Since January 2005, girls in Reach Out have crocheted, knitted and made fleece blankets for children in Africa; mittens, hats and scarves for local shelters; and stuffed bears and tote bags for missionaries.
“We average about six girls per week and about three ladies who help out and teach sewing skills,” Jordan said.
She believes they are helping with more than the physical needs of the less fortunate. “We want to meet their emotional needs. These people know that ‘someone in rich America made this just for me,’ and the things are handmade. We have photographs of those who have received our stuff. We have a picture of a little boy holding a blanket that says, ‘With love from Reach Out.’ ”
On Wednesday, Moriah Newhouse, Jordan’s 10-year-old sister, and their father, Mark Newhouse, will leave for Kenya. “Ever since I was 5, I have wanted to be a missionary and have an orphanage,” Moriah said. “I have always loved kids and this will be my dream come true.”
All of the girls in the club are home-schooled, but girls who attend a school are also welcome to join.
Not all who join Reach Out know how to sew, knit or crochet when they join, Jordan said. Jill Rouw, a member of the American Sewing Guild and past president of Sew Fun, said, “I come to support Jordan. We taught the girls how to make quilts. Today I brought purses I made that they will take to Africa, and they are finishing purses I cut out.”
Nancy Record, an adult helper, said, “I do this for the thrill of teaching young people and finding girls who want to learn the sewing arts. Jordan asked for ladies to come mentor the girls, so here I am.”
Joan Unwin (left) and granddaughter Jordan Newhouse, 15, crotchet clothing with the Reach Out Home Arts Club for Girls at Christ Community Church. The club has been busy finishing up items to be sent to an African orphanage.
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TO VOLUNTEER
For information on youth volunteer programs, call the Volunteer Center of Southern Arizona at 881-3300.
To learn more about Reach Out, call 885-2393.
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GET INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Tips for starting a youth volunteer group:
• Find friends to work with and a grown-up to help guide your group.
• Decide on a mission statement. What’s the main purpose of your group?
• Give everybody a job.
• Meet often.
• Brainstorm activities. What sorts of projects would your club like to do? Then use your ideas when you plan new projects.
Source: Ranger Rick
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