Mobile Menders
Mobile Menders goal is to provide clothing repair to those in need. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to have clothes that fit and are in good shape.
~ Connecting the threads of our community ~
Mending events are suspended indefinitely
Mobile Menders' Executive Director, Community Outreach Coordinator, and our Board of Directors have made the decision to suspend our scheduled mending events indefinitely.
Thank you
Michelle Ooley
Executive Director
Mobile Menders
For up to date information on COVID-19 and steps to take to prevent the spread of the virus, please go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Thank you
Michelle Ooley
Executive Director
Mobile Menders
For up to date information on COVID-19 and steps to take to prevent the spread of the virus, please go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Change for Good
Mobile Menders is excited to announce that they have been chosen as one of the non profits in 2020 to participate in the Change Matters program at The Wedge and Linden Hills Co-Op and The Wedge Table. Change Matters generates funds for local, non-profit, community-enrichment organizations through donations collected at the Wedge, Wedge Table and Linden Hills Co-op. Co-op shoppers are invited to round up their purchases to the next dollar every time they shop. These small change donations add up to meaningful contributions.
During the entire month of February if you shop at/or dine at any one of these establishments you can round up your purchase to the nearest dollar. That change will in turn be donated directly to Mobile Menders to help us fund our operation and continue to help people in need by providing free mending services. Change is good! |
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Healing Circles Red Ribbon Skirt Making Event
Healing Circles, a local up and coming non-profit contacted Mobile Menders and asked if we could help coordinate a sewing event to help them in making red ribbon skirts. They will be inviting 20 women to come and learn how to make these gorgeous red ribbon skirts. Each woman will be paired with a Mobile Mender volunteer for the duration of the event to help guide them in the making of their skirt. These skirts will be worn to a local march in February to remember the missing and murdered indigenous women. Mobile Menders is honored to be invited to this event.
The event will be held on 1/25/2020 (Saturday) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Further event details are in the event sign up. If you are interested in volunteering to help make a ribbon skirt, you can sign up here: volunteersignup.org/A9FBC |
Building Partnerships and Mending Coats
What an amazing day. Mobile Menders and Minnesota Public Radio (MP) partnered together on December 8, 2019 and collected over 160 coats, 68 of which needed repairs. Everything from ripped seams, ripped pockets, missing buttons and new zippers. With a dedicated group of volunteers from both organizations we got them all done. All coats were then taken immediately over to House of Charity where they will be distributed this evening and tomorrow morning. Just in time for the snow and cold headed our way. All totaled we saved 349.5 pounds of clothing from being thrown away. Instead they are all mended and someone will have something warm to wear tonight.
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Mobile Menders & Minnesota Public Radio are partnering to help others
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Mobile Menders & MPR are partnering together to gather and mend coats to donate to House of Charity--Minneapolis, MN.
If you are interested in volunteering you can sign up here: https://volunteersignup.org/CQHDX Gently used winter coat(s) are gladly accepted and if they need some minor mending, even better. You can drop them off Monday-Tuesday & Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul at 52 East 9th Street |
Quick and Easy Zipper Replacement
Do you have a winter coat lying around that's in need of a new zipper? Perhaps your favorite zippered hoodie has seen better days. Before tossing it away, check out our tutorial on how to replace that zipper in under 20 minutes.
Enjoy! |
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Mobile Menders was recently awarded The Salvation Army Northern Division's 2019 Organization Volunteer of the Year award. We are honored to be recognized. |
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Last week was National Volunteer week. Here's a look at some of our amazing volunteers. |
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What a truly wonderful event Mobile Menders had on January 27, 2019. We had the distinct honor of helping some amazing women make ribbon skirts to be worn at a march on February 14, 2019 to remember murdered and missing indigenous women. We worked in collaboration with the Red Lake Nation Legislative Affairs, Bois Forte Urban Office and the Ogitchidakwe Council. We learned so much from each other and left that evening feeling extremely blessed to have made some new friends. |
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North Metro TV recently visited the Anoka County Library in Blaine and interviewed Mobile Menders about our work. Volunteer, Kathy Nelson, sat down with their News Director, Danika Peterson, and told her what motivates her to volunteer and why the work we do is so important. |
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Red Lake Nation & Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Collaboration
Mobile Menders received a request from the Red Lake Nation to help coordinate a sewing event to make memory skirts. These skirts will be worn on 2/14/2019 at a Nation wide march in memory of missing and murdered indigenous women. A recent article by Minnesota Public Radio addresses this issue: www.mprnews.org/story/2018/11/16/npr-police-in-many-u-s-cities-fail-to-track-murdered-missing-indigenous-women
We will be helping to cut out and sew skirts under the guidance of local tribe members and elders. We are honored to be helping out on this amazing project in partnership with the Red Lake Nation and Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.
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Mobile Menders ends 2018 with some outstanding numbers
As this year comes to a close I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what an amazing year it has been. I feel so blessed to have found something that brings so much joy not only into my life, but lives of so many others. I have met some truly amazing and wonderful people this year. From volunteers who give generously of their time and talent, to the people that come to our mending events and to the various groups and organizations that welcome us into their space every month.
Mobile Menders ends 2018 with some truly outstanding numbers.
Michelle Ooley Executive Director/Founder Mobile Menders |
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A New Community Partnership
After a year-long commitment to getting to know one another and having the kind of conversations that get to the heart of what it means to create and support community, a truly wonderful Mobile Menders/Hamline Elementary School partnership program drops next week and we couldn’t be more excited.
The first of its kind (that we know of!), this partnership brings a Mobile Menders volunteer into our school every month to complete mending projects for our students and their families. This is a free service designed to keep zippers zipping, buttons buttoning, hems hemmed, and small holes from becoming big ones. Beloved items of clothing (and stuffed animal friends!) last a little longer – saving families money and keeping stuff out of landfills. Thank you, Mobile Menders, we love the work you do and we’re honored to partner with you! Learn more about their history and the good work they do in the Twin Cities here: monitorsaintpaul.com/mending-and-sustainability-go-hand-in-hand-for-mobile-menders/ ~ Hamline Elementary School |
Sewing mends the soul
Imagine if you received a pair of pants, but they were too long or a pair of shorts that were missing a button. Now imagine if you were fighting homelessness and these were your only pair of pants or shorts and you had no idea how to get these repaired.
What if you are trying to get back on your feet and in a recovery program, you have a job interview but the only pair of nice pants you have are ripped.
A single mom with two kids trying to start over after leaving an abusive situation. Your kids have received donated clothes but they are too long.
This is where Mobile Menders come in. Having a pair of pants and a shirt that fits increases your self esteem.
What if you are trying to get back on your feet and in a recovery program, you have a job interview but the only pair of nice pants you have are ripped.
A single mom with two kids trying to start over after leaving an abusive situation. Your kids have received donated clothes but they are too long.
This is where Mobile Menders come in. Having a pair of pants and a shirt that fits increases your self esteem.
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What if it can't be repaired?
We have some great ideas on what that ripped pair of jeans or torn shirt can become. We will work with the guest to show them how to turn it into something that can be used again.
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Beautiful things come together one stitch at a time
