Our Cause

Sew Much Hope provides sewing machines to refugees in the US and others in need abroad to foster self-reliance and help end generational poverty.

SMH helps to restore hope and balance to communities abroad devastated by war, genocide and poverty working closely with other organizations, governments and communities to develop creative solutions and programs that allow the poorest of the poor to earn extra income, start a micro-business, or simply mend clothing and improve living standards for their families.

Thanks to amazing partner organizations and the combined generosity of donors, large and small, SMH is able to distribute sewing machines all over the world. We work to outfit durable machines from the 1940’s – 1960’s with hand cranks or treadles to be used in rural communities without access to electricity. We use electric machines for refuges in the US and in schools, orphanages or community centers with access to reliable electricity abroad. Some sewing machines have the capacity to work in both electric and manual settings. We love these machines! Switch-hitting sewing machines are equipped for both electric and manual mode and sent to communities with electricity but unstable power grids. For new sewing machines or materials, SMH is committed to purchasing from local vendors.

We buy local where possible. The last thing we want to do is displace existing local business. SMH is dedicated to helping communities strengthen local businesses, so we are careful not to flood communities with donated goods. SMH is committed to buying local material, thread, sewing machines and parts. Especially material, beautiful material and thread can be found all over the world. Material in poor rural areas is often hand-woven and very time consuming to produce. We believe women investing their time and resources into producing this material should profit from their efforts.