THE PAD PROJECT: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We wanted to make it simple to get a lot of information all at one place so we created this FAQ/
Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still don't find the answer to your questions,
don't hesitate to contact us!
We wanted to make it simple to get a lot of information all at one place so we created this FAQ/
Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still don't find the answer to your questions,
don't hesitate to contact us!
WHAT'S THE NAME ALL ABOUT?
It’s our Mission: Period! The name of the project was meant to get right to the point – these girls need help for their monthly period supplies and it’s become our mission to supply that help.
WHAT'S THE NEED?
Click here to go to the It's Our Mission page to read more.
WHERE AND WHEN DO WE MEET?
Our work bees are at Lamont Community Church, 14000 48th Avenue, Coopersville, MI. We normally begin around 4pm and finish up before 9 – but they are a ‘come and go’ gathering so you can come and stay as long as is possible for you to do so. Click here for directions and a map to the church.
WHEN'S THE OFFICIAL KICK-OFF FOR THE NEXT PROJECT?
The official kick-off will be Monday, October 8 at 7pm at Lamont Community Church. It will be our regular GROWTH meeting with the theme: A Stitch In Time. We will have our worship and teaching followed by the kick-off of the project during the fellowship time following the meeting. Please do not bring any supplies to this meeting. This meeting is for informational purposes and not an actual work bee.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A WORK BEE?
A project such as this has numerous aspects:
CAN I WORK AT HOME?
Although we had provided two patterns/styles in the past, we are now recommending the 8x8 Block Tri-fold style only. Feel free to download the pattern & instructions and begin. The 8x8 Block Tri-fold liner pattern - click here. **Patterns also available at the NEW website: www.its-our-mission-period.org.
There is no video for the 8x8 Block Tri-fold pattern as it is quite simple. The shield pattern will be available at our sewing bees - the reason for this is we have found that some additional instruction is necessary for working on the shields - once you have been to a work bee, you will have a better understanding of the process of sewing the shields. We hope to soon have a video tutorial available for the shields available online.
I ALREADY BELONG TO A SEWING GROUP -- CAN WE JOIN THE PROJECT?
Absolutely! If you belong to a sewing group and would like to work on this as a project with your group, that would be great! We would love to have you come to the monthly GROWTH meetings if possible - or to the monthly sewing bees -- But if that isn't possible, you can work with your group toward whatever goal you set and contribute the finished work to GROWTH for distribution.
CAN WE MAKE PADS/PACKETS FOR OUR OWN MISSIONARIES/MISSION TRIPS?
It's a big world out there with lots of women who need these items, so yes -- pads/packets can be made by you or your group for your own missionaries/mission trips, etc. Please contact us so we can discuss your particular situation. We will schedule a time that we can come to your group/church/organization to share with your group the vision of the project and help with any sewing details and questions as you get started with your project. We are requesting that if you use our patterns, that you give us the name and contact information for your organization/ ministry/church. We are diligently working to track the production of pads/packets so we will need the production numbers of your group and the details for whom they will be given. Although the pads/packets will be distributed by you to your mission, the project and its design/pattern/system concept belongs to GROWTH Ministries.
WHAT DO I DO WITH MY FINISHED WORK?
First of all, take a breath and know that you've made a difference in someone's life --
smile and reflect on her face :) When sewing product for GROWTH’s distribution, your finished work can be brought to any monthly GROWTH meeting (2nd Monday of each month.) Or call and we will give you the address and directions to drop it by us: 616-262-3862. Items can also be mailed. We are asking for you to trim threads, pack flat and lease do not tri-fold when shipping.
(Liners can be accumulated and kept until an arrangement for drop-off is made. At this time, we transport bulk cartons via container to Africa. Please pack your liners in Ziploc bags in increments of ten, and label the Ziploc with the number of liners enclosed – as we issue ten per student and this assists us in counting and packaging for the cartons.)
ARE YOU TAKING DONATIONS?
Yes, we are accepting financial and fabric donations: If you are interested in making a fabric donation, please contact us and we can discuss what you have and make arrangements.
Financial contributions go directly to the project costs of producing sewing packets and transporting packets to Africa and other Third World Nations. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization so your contributions are tax deductible.
Once the cloths/pads/liners are completed and turned over to us for distribution, much of the 'real work' begins: hours and hours of organizing and packing packets for individual schools; cartons and tubs being purchased for transport; transport fees, duty and customs charges; in-country logistics and transport to the schools receiving the products; in-country costs for the curriculum development; buckets, soap and supplies for the training and ongoing care of the cloths; fabric & notions for training.
Donations can be mailed to our address on the Contact Us page or processed on line at the Givings Page.
SIGN UP FOR A WORK BEE:
It’s a tremendous help to know how many folks will be coming to a bee – it helps us in setting up tables, preparing the food, etc so please let us know if you will be attending by signing up here. You will have a chance to give us your phone number and email address in order that we can contact you with any pertinent information.
But should you forget to sign up – Come anyway!!! There’s always room :) And remember, Together - It's Better!
It’s our Mission: Period! The name of the project was meant to get right to the point – these girls need help for their monthly period supplies and it’s become our mission to supply that help.
WHAT'S THE NEED?
Click here to go to the It's Our Mission page to read more.
WHERE AND WHEN DO WE MEET?
Our work bees are at Lamont Community Church, 14000 48th Avenue, Coopersville, MI. We normally begin around 4pm and finish up before 9 – but they are a ‘come and go’ gathering so you can come and stay as long as is possible for you to do so. Click here for directions and a map to the church.
WHEN'S THE OFFICIAL KICK-OFF FOR THE NEXT PROJECT?
The official kick-off will be Monday, October 8 at 7pm at Lamont Community Church. It will be our regular GROWTH meeting with the theme: A Stitch In Time. We will have our worship and teaching followed by the kick-off of the project during the fellowship time following the meeting. Please do not bring any supplies to this meeting. This meeting is for informational purposes and not an actual work bee.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A WORK BEE?
A project such as this has numerous aspects:
- Cutting: cutting fabric into squares; cutting the patterned shield after it’s sewn together;
- Pinning: pinning the grouped fabric together for tracing and sewing
- Tracing: tracing the pattern onto the fabric;
- Grouping: taking the different pieces of cut fabric and grouping them together for the next step.
- Sewing: beginners can handle the simple straight stitching or those with experience will work on the other sewing details.
- Do I bring my machine? Yes! That would be great -- we need folks to bring machines, rotary blades, cutting mats, scissors, whatever will assist you – bring it!
- Food & Fellowship: We have food available each time we meet. Some gals come directly from work – others have been at it for a while and we like to share a bite to eat together. If that is something that interests you, we would love to have someone coordinate the food aspect for our work bees, simply contact us.
CAN I WORK AT HOME?
Although we had provided two patterns/styles in the past, we are now recommending the 8x8 Block Tri-fold style only. Feel free to download the pattern & instructions and begin. The 8x8 Block Tri-fold liner pattern - click here. **Patterns also available at the NEW website: www.its-our-mission-period.org.
There is no video for the 8x8 Block Tri-fold pattern as it is quite simple. The shield pattern will be available at our sewing bees - the reason for this is we have found that some additional instruction is necessary for working on the shields - once you have been to a work bee, you will have a better understanding of the process of sewing the shields. We hope to soon have a video tutorial available for the shields available online.
I ALREADY BELONG TO A SEWING GROUP -- CAN WE JOIN THE PROJECT?
Absolutely! If you belong to a sewing group and would like to work on this as a project with your group, that would be great! We would love to have you come to the monthly GROWTH meetings if possible - or to the monthly sewing bees -- But if that isn't possible, you can work with your group toward whatever goal you set and contribute the finished work to GROWTH for distribution.
CAN WE MAKE PADS/PACKETS FOR OUR OWN MISSIONARIES/MISSION TRIPS?
It's a big world out there with lots of women who need these items, so yes -- pads/packets can be made by you or your group for your own missionaries/mission trips, etc. Please contact us so we can discuss your particular situation. We will schedule a time that we can come to your group/church/organization to share with your group the vision of the project and help with any sewing details and questions as you get started with your project. We are requesting that if you use our patterns, that you give us the name and contact information for your organization/ ministry/church. We are diligently working to track the production of pads/packets so we will need the production numbers of your group and the details for whom they will be given. Although the pads/packets will be distributed by you to your mission, the project and its design/pattern/system concept belongs to GROWTH Ministries.
WHAT DO I DO WITH MY FINISHED WORK?
First of all, take a breath and know that you've made a difference in someone's life --
smile and reflect on her face :) When sewing product for GROWTH’s distribution, your finished work can be brought to any monthly GROWTH meeting (2nd Monday of each month.) Or call and we will give you the address and directions to drop it by us: 616-262-3862. Items can also be mailed. We are asking for you to trim threads, pack flat and lease do not tri-fold when shipping.
(Liners can be accumulated and kept until an arrangement for drop-off is made. At this time, we transport bulk cartons via container to Africa. Please pack your liners in Ziploc bags in increments of ten, and label the Ziploc with the number of liners enclosed – as we issue ten per student and this assists us in counting and packaging for the cartons.)
ARE YOU TAKING DONATIONS?
Yes, we are accepting financial and fabric donations: If you are interested in making a fabric donation, please contact us and we can discuss what you have and make arrangements.
Financial contributions go directly to the project costs of producing sewing packets and transporting packets to Africa and other Third World Nations. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization so your contributions are tax deductible.
Once the cloths/pads/liners are completed and turned over to us for distribution, much of the 'real work' begins: hours and hours of organizing and packing packets for individual schools; cartons and tubs being purchased for transport; transport fees, duty and customs charges; in-country logistics and transport to the schools receiving the products; in-country costs for the curriculum development; buckets, soap and supplies for the training and ongoing care of the cloths; fabric & notions for training.
Donations can be mailed to our address on the Contact Us page or processed on line at the Givings Page.
SIGN UP FOR A WORK BEE:
It’s a tremendous help to know how many folks will be coming to a bee – it helps us in setting up tables, preparing the food, etc so please let us know if you will be attending by signing up here. You will have a chance to give us your phone number and email address in order that we can contact you with any pertinent information.
But should you forget to sign up – Come anyway!!! There’s always room :) And remember, Together - It's Better!