SewGreen Annual Report 2024
“The best thing about SewGreen is that we don’t have to focus on selling things; we get to sell the shop.”
A message from the President
2024 was a year of transition for SewGreen Rochester. After several years of extraordinary effort directed to keeping SewGreen afloat, we re-opened fully. Restoring our cadre of volunteers and growing our base of donors, both financial and goods, were our twin focuses. SewGreen showed great success in both areas. Our founder, Georgia Carney, stepped away from her creation to put her energies into her newest charitable project, the Repair Cafe. It was my honor in January to begin a term as President of the Board of Directors of SewGreen Rochester. My background in non-profit work includes ten years as Business Manager of the National Criminal Defense College and ten years as Committee Coordinator at the Coordinating Research Council. That experience and my five years of volunteering at SewGreen and two years as a staff member have given me a profound appreciation for its mission and possibilities for the future.
The board of SewGreen Rochester is an energetic group of people whose skills are varied and will provide us with excellent guidance in many directions. The board feels a calling to function as a best-practice board, so there will be a lot of attention to input, processes and supporting our staff with a clear vision. To check out the full 2025 Board of Directors roster on our website, click here.
It is a very exciting time to be part of SewGreen. Ideas imagined in a collaboration with Causewave have gained momentum, and there has been growth in every area of the organization: educational programs, merchandising, and most importantly the benefits to customers.
We will improve our class offerings, explore innovative fundraising efforts, and continue to amplify our nonprofit resources. Expansion into more community activities and increased collaborations with local entities will feature in our plans going into 2025. We thank everyone who has contributed to SewGreen Rochester. I can't wait to see what we will achieve together.
Jane McNamee Beck
President, Board of Directors
2024 Statistics
20,451 pounds of donations
133 classes offered
50 weeks of free crochet club meet up
50 weeks of free knitting club meet up
501 people attended classes
Approximately 3,236 volunteer hours
Approximately 3234 walk in store visitors
Weekly distribution of free sewing machines for Refugee Support Programs
SewGreen Mission
“Founded in 2015, the mission of SewGreen@Rochester is to incorporate community, creativity, and sustainability in everything we do.”
SewGreen@Rochester, Inc., is a 501(c)3 dedicated to the rescue of everything to do with sewing, knitting, crochet, and needlework for reuse. Another aspect of our mission is to educate folks of all ages and walks of life in all creative and practical machine and hand needle arts. SewGreen teaches low cost classes and camps in our shop and has many free club opportunities for the community. We take programs out to schools, libraries, and festivals. We are determined to revive these skills which, as much as they are practical, are also good for our emotional lives.
Community - We strive to increase the self-sufficiency of Rochester’s young people and adults by teaching the skills of sewing, knitting, and needlework, and supplying the tools and materials they need at low to no cost. SewGreen@Rochester provides everything needed to sew and practice needlework skills in a safe and friendly environment through classes, camps, and sales of donated fabric and sewing materials.
Creativity - Through teacher-led class offerings, free workshops and open sewing opportunities, we encourage the community to create new items from the rescued fabric, sewing, and needlework supplies in our shop. Our friendly and knowledgeable volunteers and staff share their projects and ideas to encourage others to create clothing, accessories, artwork, and other useful and creative objects.
Sustainability - The rescue and reuse of fabric, sewing machines, and all kinds of sewing and needlework materials extends the usefulness of these supplies and keeps them out of the landfill. Rescue and reuse means that no energy is used for manufacturing and very little for transportation, which reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions.
Board of Directors, Staff & Volunteers
2024 Board of Directors
Georgia Carney
Betsy Lewis
Lisa Shaw
Charlotte Macy
Staff
Jane Beck
Ansel Eklund
Jacki Marthinsen
Eliza McDaniel
Volunteers
SewGreen Rochester recognizes and appreciates our dedicated volunteers. Approximately 3,181 volunteer hours were spent working towards our mission. Our organization depends on their commitment to the needs of the community. Some volunteers have specific skills and bring those to classes and activities. Other volunteers offer help in a general way, whatever is needed in the shop. Please know you are all appreciated and essential to our mission. Apologies if we have left off any names, but here are many who have supported SGR.
Heather Melnick - Tuesday Crochet Club
Sue Sennett - Thursday Knitting Club
Jonathan Becker - Sew To Give Club
Laurie Kennedy and Georgia Carney - Open Sew Thursdays
Janet Barclay - Quilt Club
Judy Scott and Charlotte Marcy - Newsletter
Doug Potter, Henrietta Foster, Pamela Frame - Sewing Machine Repair/Rehab
Sue and Bob Melech - Champion Fabric Processors
Linda, Grace, Kaycee, Amy, Deborah, Ginnie, Judy, Jeannette, Susan, Jackie, Alan, Tommy, Elizabeth - Weekly Volunteers
2024 Donors & Grants
Donors
Ann Falsey
Episcopal Church of the Good Shephard
Jacquelyn Howett, MD
National Council of Jewish Women
Charlotte W. Fridd
Susan Langmann
Lisa Jacques, DBA Park Ave Pets
Barbara C Wainwright
Shannon Donnell Adler
Elizabeth Marice Bosek
Karen Kaminsky
Claudia Killigrew
Grants
Episcopal Diocese of Rochester
Genesee Valley Council on the Arts
Read the Full Report
To read more stories about our participants, key moments from our programs, and other details of this transformative year at SewGreen, please download the full report below.