2016 Shifting Focus

Things are ever changing in life. So we have to change with them.

 Recently Jessie has been having problems with sewing. The machines keep breaking. This has never happened before. She is content to spend some part of everyday sewing.
This is the thing she loves.

When I took the machines to the repair shop the conclusion we came to is the problem might be operator error….



 I don’t know what she is doing differently but things are different lately
 At 86 years old I am not surprised there are changes

 I’m really not sure what to expect from her day to day. Some things are harder to do sometimes she surprises me. My husband gave Jessie a tablet, she loves it! girlfriend is working that tablet... looking up bible verses... I found her trying to show her sister a video from JW.ORG. She has no problem using the tablet, I thought she would... 

The TV remote is a different story some days it totally frustrates her, and some days I can hear her… as she and the sewing machine are fighting. You just never know…

 My solution is to shift Jessie and her focus and redirect her thoughts. She needs to sew less. I need her to  cut out linings, Put fabric pieces together for sewing, Trim and tag bags, add some buttons and bows to fabrics. She can cut up Jeans to use in bag making.  I will keep her busy. And on her good days she may be sewing some of the bags.

We are still making bags we will just need someone else to help us with the sewing. Starting in 2016 we are going to make more visits to outside locations to tell about our story and get volunteers to join us... We are going to be on the road at least once a week. We are looking for some others to join us. We will need help with sewing and we need people who want to represent Jessie’s bags on the road at senior centers, 55+ communities and residences, schools and corporate events.

  Contact us if you would like to be involved.

One of the changes is our shop in Booths corner location will be closing. 

You will still see our bags and be able to purchase them at Jean’s co-op in the Booths corner.  We will be teaming up with JOY”S FABRICS in Booths Corner to do a bag building event every now and then.

WE are shifting our activities and focus I can't wait to see what 2016 brings ….

#jessiesbagsontheroad

 http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2016/nov/sewing-service-112415.html

http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/tote-bags-brighten-lives-of-breast-cancer-survivors#.

We wish to conduct ourselves honestly in all things…. NOT A NON-PROFIT maybe call us Philanthropic .... in 2016

The bible sat Hebrews chapter 13 verse 18 says “Keep praying for us, for we trust we have an honest conscience, as we wish to conduct ourselves honestly in all things”.

There have been 2 articles written about us recently and they both call Jessie’s Bags a non-profit organization.

Jessie & I  want to clarify - we do not have a non-Profit status.

We don't want to misrepresent who we are....

We probably should be a non-profit because so far we we have given away more bags than we sell.

For the last 9 years we have been a small group of volunteers who have been hand making bags and giving most of our bags away to breast cancer survivors along with a note of encouragement.

 Jessie’s Bags have also been given these bags to volunteer ministers who attend the pioneer service schools. We gave Bags away to Moms who were at the neonatal unit at Christiana Hospital and some who stayed at the Ronald McDonald House may have gotten one of Jessie's Bags.  Some of Jessie's  bags were given out in PA & DE @ hospitals & to dialysis patients  .  We visit and give out Jessie's Bags to nursing homes residents, Senior centers, 55+ Communities through out  DE  and Pennsylvania locations. We left bags  at other locations doctors offices, mammogram locations, and some of you may have received our bags  from a mastectomy supplier like BFRIN or  at a wig store in PA & DE.

In  2014 we started to count how many bags we gave away and it was 100 a month.

In 2015 we incorporated and became an LLC.

In 2016- we are hoping to expand our out reach and we need to  fund what we are doing by selling some of the bags..... 

  

We will be at the location in Booths Corner Farmers Market mid level  till January 2 2016. (where we still give away more bags than we sell) We will be leaving this location as of January because we cannot afford the rent.   Thanks those who stopped to talk and support us. Thanks to the few people who bought our bags.Thanks for the donations of  fabrics and Jeans that were dropped off.


A new chapter begins  in January 2016 we will focus on selling our bags on line where the cost is minimum. We will let you know more about this later... You will also be able to purchase our bags when we visit a location with a Jessie's Bags event.  We may try to  keep a few bags in Booths Corner at Jeans CO-OP.  And you may see us pop up at area Farmers Markets, Follow our adventures in bag making.... as Jessie's bags is on the road...
follow us on Facebook &   #Jessiesbags INSTAGRAM

We just want to set the record straight we have not been making a profit but ...We are not a non-Profit organization. 
...maybe we should be called philanthropic 

“Keep praying for us, for we trust we have an honest conscience, as we wish to conduct ourselves honestly in all things”.

Thanks ....Stevens Learning Center Chester PA- Volunteers

Thanks to Miss Michelle and the students from Steven's Learning Center Chester PA who lent a hand at Jessie’s Bags Booths Corner location. The group of boys and girls came in and helped us process some of the donated fabrics we had received.


The group was able to tear down 15 books of fabric for us to use in our bag making process. We hope to have them join us again we are always looking for volunteers to help us do what we do…..

Thank you!!!!

Hard at work!

Thanks super young man !

Good Job!

The Moms always help out too!

Do you have a group that might want to volunteer? Come to us or we may be able to come out to your location…..Call us for more details and to schedule a volunteer time... 302-345-6709!

In the news again!

We have a new Article in the university of Delaware paper UDaily.

http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2016/nov/sewing-service-112415.html


I guess Jessie will be signing autographs soon!  


My Celebrity Go mom!

Jessie's Paparazzi !

The Reading Eagle Included Jessie’s Bags in their story about

The Heritage of Green Hills.

Jessie’s Bags - First News Paper Article we cut out this small part of that article & copied it here  for our readers..... Go to the Reading Eagle to read the entire article.....

Thanks Reading Eagle & Heritage Of Green Hills!!!!

Tote bags brighten lives of breast cancer survivors

Thursday November 5, 2015 

 

By Karen Shuey  

 Surrounded by piles of fabric and design sketches, a small group of volunteers who live at The Heritage of Green Hills comes together each week to combine their hearts and talents to bring a smile to breast cancer survivors.

From recycled materials, they make tote bags that are distributed by Jessie's Bags, a Delaware-based  organization that gives away the items to those who have breast cancer and are undergoing treatment at hospitals. Each bag is unique and handmade by volunteers.

Three-time breast cancer survivor Jessie  Moore, 86, started sewing the tote bags nine years ago when she was coping with her own diagnoses. After working in a sewing factory making children's clothing for more than three decades, Moore said she found a purpose by making the tote bags for others who were going through her experience.

"It really builds me up to hear what other people are doing to get through it all," she said during a visit this week to The Heritage. "There's not much I can do at my age to give back but I can still sew."

YEA!!!!!!!!!!

Jessie's Bags on the road to The University Of Delaware

Special thanks to -

Professor Brenda Shaffer Faculty Chair Instructor Director of undergraduate Studies at the University Of Delaware Department Of Fashion.....

Thanks To:
 

 Full time Honors Students Megan Blissick   & Jillian Silverman  who have been assisting Jessie’s Bags with our on line presence......

 They also arranged our evening of Bag making with the campus club 

SEW BABY SEW, and for this we are very grateful. 

They told me they enjoyed the real life hands on experience of applying things they read about or study about. Their participation in our project helps us have an interchange of ideas and skills.

Thanks to the sponsorship of the campus club Sew Baby Sew, A group of 20-30 students joined Jessie in her bag making from 4:30-6:30 on The University of Delaware Campus at Allison Hall Yesterday.

Jessie quickly got to sewing on one of the machines to show the ladies how she makes bags. We had students with no sewing skills and some experts all join our team for a few hours. 

The non-sewers pieced together fabrics & designed pieces to complete bags. Some cut out linings and we now have bags ready to sew. We notice the more volunteers we have the more we accomplish. It also motivates us to keep working. Thanks to all who joined  us.

We are enjoying the partnership with the University Of Delaware and all the students that have been supporting Jessie’s Bags!

Hopefully .... You will see more of these Jessie's Bags  events in the future!!!!

Jessie’s Bags is on the road!

Thanks BELA FIGURA

Thank you Bella Figura!

We love it when people reach out to us because they have heard about what we are doing at Jessie’s Bags.  This week we got a call and received lots of beautiful fabrics compliments of Dana @

 Bella Figura of West Chester Pa. 

Thank you so much for the donations and the suggestions and most of all for reaching out to us.

Jessie’s Bags is able to give away so many beautiful bags because of our supports. The things we are creating are always made with the most beautiful fabrics. If we had to purchase these fabrics we would not be able to afford them. I was not surprised when Dana pointed out one fabric included in a patchwork bag which wholesaled for $125.00 a yard. 

We have very generous supporters and we appreciate all the ways they assist us in making Jessie’s Bags. 

Thank You… Thank You …Thank You!