I was a stranger among them, warmly welcomed with offers of soup and tea. We spoke mostly about matters of the heart. I was having trouble, but luckily found my new-found friends around the table were more than happy to help.
You see, I am a terrible seamstress, and yet I came there specifically to sew hearts for the non-profit Hearts That Help. Really I came because I love the idea of helping to make a positive impact in the lives of women and children in Cambodia. I was there because I love when I hear stories of one person, or family in this case, growing the seed of an idea into a non-profit that changes lives. (You know I love to share those stories too.) And I was there because, I’ll admit it, being artsy and having been born on Valentines Day, they had me with the idea of crafting hearts for social good. Despite my lack in sewing skills, I wanted to go and help.
Although the workshop that I attended, held at the founder’s home, was mostly their friends and neighbors, the hearts sewn for Hearts That Help come from places as far-flung as Paris, and San Francisco. Each heart has a tag with the name of the person who created it, sometimes their age, (I did not put my age on the one I made because it looks like a 5 yr old’s handiwork ) and where they are from.
Founded in 2003 Hearts That Help began as a way to for the Rhode Island family to give back to Cambodia, the country where both their daughters had been born. When their daughters were young the parents asked them if they had an idea of how they could help those in Cambodia without the same access to education, and proper health care. The girls suggested sewing hearts to sell for Valentines Day, and Hearts That Help was born.
That first year the family began by selling their hand stitched fabric hearts at a card table they set up in their village. Friends and neighbors soon wanted to help, and so the number of sewing workshops grew. Ten years later the non-profit supports programs at Angkor Hospital For Children and The Lake Clinic where free health care for the most impoverished is provided in rural, hard to reach areas of Cambodia. They also support the education of at risk girls through The Cambodian Arts & Scholarship Foundation which funds education for girls in vulnerable situations.
Our story is about finding a way to give, because we have all that we need in accessible health care, education choices, clean water and nutritious foods……… we have been joined by hundreds of others who are living a life of gratitude, creativity and charity during the cold weeks of winter. Steadfast friends and new ones that emerge yearly keep the spirit of Hearts That Help alive. But it is always the gravity of unresolved needs in Cambodia, that stirs us to begin another season of love and giving, with you.
– an excerpt from the Hearts That Help website
Hearts That Help is a beautiful example of taking that step to do something to really make a difference in other’s lives. If you would like to join Hearts That Help in touching the hearts and lives of those who need it most in Cambodia you can:
Attend a sale this week:
The BIG SALE February 8th at the Coastal Growers Market in N. kingstown, RI from 10-1
The Peaceable Kingdom, Providence, RI Tuesday-Saturday 11-6
Lina Piccolina’s in East Greenwich, RI Tuesday- Friday 10-5 & Saturday 10-4
Hold your own sewing workshop with friends.
Donate to Hearts That Help
Share their story on Facebook .
Thanks for your information!