Friday 30 August 2013

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #111 - T-shirts and accessories from Di

Back to acknowledging donations and this time is a parcel of 11 t-shirts and 25 boys and girls' undies from Di Beckett and number 111 on the list. 
Two of the 11 t-shirts and all of the 25 undies were included in the Abim Uganda Christmas project. 

To Di, thank you for helping make the Abim Uganda project a big success. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. It is very much appreciated. Thanks! 

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Tutorial 6 now available

WooHoo! I think we just passed the halfway mark of the "100 days of quilting". The end is almost near for those who are quilting along with Margie Burke. So where is everyone in their quilts. Am still on connecting squares. Work has been eating up some of my energy the only task I can do when I get home is packing parcels. Eventually I will get there...slowly but surely...for the kiddies in Romania.

Today "Tutorial 6 for Finish the top" has just been published for all those who are still quilting along with Margie. Here is the link to the new tutorial -
Come one...come all. Quilt along with Margie Burke and live the year 2013 making a difference.

Sunday 25 August 2013

Disappeared without a trace.....and found!

I have been looking for this bag I made since the last Dreamers Markets in mid-July. I have looked everywhere but could not find it. It was important that I find it as inside this bag was a sketch of mini houses that I wanted to make for my next market in October. I finally found it last night after folding the remaining dresses and the pairs of shorts I included in parcel #5. All the time it was underneath all the t-shirts, dresses and shorts that filled 5 parcels for Uganda. I even thought I left it at the Dreamers Markets venue.
This could be the reason why I was in a hurry to finish packing Parcel #5? LOL! Am glad I found it.

T-shirts for Abim #12 - Last 2 t-shirts from Di's parcel

I wanted to seal Parcel #5 but could not because I was waiting for the last 2 t-shirts to arrive. I could have filled from the ones I have on hand but want everyone to have a chance to contribute and make a difference. As everyone would probably know by now I can only send parcels on weekends and can do sorting and packing on weeknights so I am on a very tight schedule on the Uganda parcels. 

Unfortunately the 2 t-shirts did not arrive but was very lucky when I opened this parcel. It had 11 t-shirts inside and 25 undies for boys and girls from Di Beckett. I found my replacements so I finally was able to seal parcel #5 last night and completed the packing of the 178 t-shirts. The rest of the items donated by Di will be acknowledged separately. 
To Di, thank you so much for the items. Thank you for making Christmas a wonderful and colourful celebration this year for the kiddies in Abim. Much appreciated.

T-shirts for Abim #11 - 6 more t-shirts from Sharyn and her mum Betty

From Sharyn Paull and her mum Betty, 6 of the last 8 t-shirts to complete my goal of 178 t-shirts for the children of Abim, Uganda. This batch now packed will be included in the last 3 parcels to be sent next weekend.
Thank you Sharyn and please extend my thanks as well to your mum, Betty. Much appreciated.

Saturday 24 August 2013

First 4 parcels sent to Abim

Looks like good things are happening my way this week especially on saving dollars. Sometimes I would ask for it (since I believe there is no harm in asking..at least I asked) but this time it is the other party who offers on how I can save my cash. First I paid a dollar for 7 t-shirts. This morning I paid 29.95 for 10 boxes when normally it would cost 43.50. And the 20 I use to pay for the boxes came from the 20 I saved on the t-shirts. Great deals in 2 days.

Anyway, I finally was able to send this morning the first 4 parcels for Abim Uganda. 
Still a lot of work to be done for the last 2 to 3 parcels(I think) as I still need to sort and pack about 163 pairs of shorts but I can easily do this next week at one parcel a day. Thank you so much to the donors who made these 4 parcels possible and to the special group of people who helped make the send off of the parcels to Uganda so much possible. Thanks a whole lot!  More details on this distribution will be posted very soon.

I also want to thank D Beckett, Sharyn Paull and her mum Betty, R Dyson (or was that a P Dyson?), Lisa Gallagher of Narley Creations, Emily Bieber, Vanya Bryant and the Craft & Hope group of Kapunda S.A. for the parcels I picked up at the postoffice this morning. Once again, thank you Ladies for your support. Much appreciated.

My $1.00 t-shirts

Since the postoffice was closed when I got there I decided to go to Kmart to check if they still had t-shirts on sale. Quite a number left on the $3.00 shirt I decided to get 7. I only wanted to pay $20 plus coins as I still wanted to buy Thai fried rice.chicken for dinner. When I got to the counter, the counter guy said 'do you want to pay your total of $21 with your fly-buy points'. (Then I remembered Coles hasnt really been asking me about paying from my fly-buy points lately whenever I go shopping for food. I thought I should have enough because I always activate bonus offers.) He said if you pay with your fly-buy points you only need to pay a dollar more. It turned out I had 4,500 points collected helped by bonus offers and I only needed 4,000 points to pay for the 7 t-shirts plus a dollar. So here are the 7 t-shirts paid for by my flybuy points plus a dollar. :-)

Update on the Abim Uganda parcel

After packing 1 parcel a night this week, I now have these 4 boxes ready to send to Uganda either today( if I can leave work early) or tomorrow morning (which is Saturday) on my regular morning trip to the post office). 
These parcels include 170 tshirts, 15 pairs of shorts and 112 dresses. Will be packing the last 4 parcels next week or if I have the spare time this weekend. But then I cannot really send them till Saturday so I think I will do another parcel a day next week.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Parcel 3 for Abim Uganda - 77 dresses and 15 pairs of shorts

After packing 2 parcels filled with  170 t-shirts, this is my third parcel which I finished packing tonight. A parcel of 77 dresses and 15 pairs of shorts.
Donors will be published when I finish packing all the dresses. Hope to finish one more parcel and then I will call it a night.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

My first parcel for Abim Uganda

Yes, this is my first parcel for Abim District, Northern Uganda containing 90 tshirts for the schoolboys of Oringowello Primary School.
Donors will be published together with the second parcel of 88 tshirts.


Monday 19 August 2013

New Tutorials 4 & 5 from Margie's Quilt-A-Long

Day 42 of the "100 Days of Quilting" charity drive is World Humanitarian Day to celebrate the willingness of people through their kindness and generosity to help other people. It is also Day 42 in our attempt to raise as many quilts as possible  to keep children warm in Romania during their winter through your kindness and generosity.

Day 42 is also the day that Margie has published 2 more new tutorials in the quilt-a-long to help us make quilts especially for those who wants to learn new skills and at the same time want to make a difference to the lives of a few children in Romania. So here are the new tutorials -
       

                                     Tutorial 4 - Cutting the 9 patch blocks

                                    Tutorial 5 - Sewing New Blocks

If you have missed any of the previous tutorials or just starting to quilt-a-long, dont panic as I have collected all the tutorials in one place in a special "Quilt-A-Long with Margie Burke" page on this site. You can either click here to go directly to the page or click on the special tab "Quilt-A-Long with Margie Burke" which you can find at the top of this page.

I hope everyone is having a good time quilting along with Margie and the rest of us who wants to live the year 2013 making a difference. Thank you.

Sri Lanka Parcels arrived & delivered in Queensland

Today is World Humanitarian Day and also the day that the 3 parcels I sent to Robin in Queensland for the children of Sri Lanka has arrived and delivered. Sharing with everyone the acknowledgement message I received from Robin especially to the donors who made the parcels possible.
Thank you Robyn and thank you donors.

Here is the link to the Sri Lanka album.

Cambodia Parcels arrived & delivered in Victoria

The 3 parcels for Cambodia which I sent last Thursday to Nicky Mih in Victoria has been delivered. Sharing with everyone the acknowledgement email from Nicky especially to the donors who made the parcels possible -
Thank you Nicky and thank you donors!

Here is the link to the Cambodia album.

Sunday 18 August 2013

How is your quilting along with Margie?

The t-shirt charity drive may now be officially closed but there is still one more charity drive actively going on. How is everyone doing the Quilt-A-Long with Margie Burke? I still have more squares to cut but once I have completed my packing for Uganda, then more time will be allocated to my cutting and connecting the squares.

If anyone has missed the earlier tutorials, here is the link to the notes on the quilt-a-long.
 

I hope everyone quilting along is having a good time. Any questions you may have about this drive, please feel free to send an email to 'dress a girl australia'. Any questions on the quilt-a-long, please feel free to send an email to the Nanny


Would love to know how everyone is doing. Please feel free to share images. Thanks everyone!

Quilt #7 from Linda Smyth

Isnt it amazing how a lot of us wants to make a difference in this world for a change. Here is quilt #7 for another child to be kept warm during their winter from Linda Smyth. 
Thank you Linda. It is much appreciated.

With the "T-shirt for Abim" charity drive now over, expect me once more to spend more time spreading the word about "100 days of Quilting" charity drive for the kids in Romania. To keep them warm during their winter through your kindness and generosity. I have no number as to how many quilts I want to raise but the more quilts we make, the more warmer it would be.

if you want to keep a child in Romania warm this winter, join us by making a quilt. If you are new to quilting, enjoy the experience of learning how to make a quilt and at the same time make a difference in this world by joining the "Quilt-A-Long" with Margie Burke. Margie's tutorials are so easy to follow. Check them out by clicking here or click on the tab "Quilt-A-Long" with Margie Burke which you can find at the top of this page. Thank you.

For more information or details about this charity drive, please feel free to send an email to dress a girl australia.

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #110 - 5 dresses and christmas bags from Linda

It's time for my regular donation acknowledgement and number 110 on the list is a parcel of 5 dresses from Linda Smyth. Also included in the parcel are fabric bags which am planning to use for wrapping Christmas presents for kids in the Philippines. Here are the goodies from Linda this time -
Thank you Linda for your unwavering support of Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. Thank you for the time and effort you spend in helping make a difference to the lives of the less fortunate. Much appreciated.

T-shirts for Abim #10 - 2 t-shirts from heyboom

These 2 t-shirts for Abim brings my total to 170 thanks heaps to my sister heyboom.

 Now all I have to do is wait for the other 8 t-shirts that will be arriving very soon here in Sydney and I have reached my goal of 178.  Then the packing begins.

Thank you to everyone who made this charity drive a big success. Much appreciated.

T-shirts for Abim #9 - 4 tshirts and 3 pairs of shorts from Linda

Number 9 on the list for the t-shirts for Abim is a parcel of 4 t-shirts and 3 pairs of shorts dropped off by Linda Smyth last week. I originally wanted to send these sets to a different location but last night when I was looking at the picture I recently posted of the schoolkids of Abim, I thought there would be two or three of the schoolboys who would benefit from the sizes Linda contributed. So here are the tshirts -
and here are the pairs of shorts -
Thank you so much Linda for your unwavering support of Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Much appreciated.

Update on the "T-shirts for Abim" Charity Drive - 170 on hand & 8 on their way to Sydney

WooHoo!! With 8 t-shirts on their way to Sydney and 170 t-shirts on hand, my goal of 178 t-shirts for the kiddies of Abim Uganda has now been achieved. The charity drive is now officially closed 8 days ahead of schedule.
With the exception of the 8 t-shirts already pledged for this charity drive, any other t-shirts received starting Monday, 19th of August will be allocated to another parcel. Click here for the t-shirts received so far.

My heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated, to everyone who helped in achieving this goal. Thank you so much. What a wonderful and colourful Christmas it will be for the kiddies in Abim Uganda through your kindness and generosity. Thank you.

Saturday 17 August 2013

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #109 - 9 Dresses from Annette Norley

Number 109 on the list is a parcel of 9 dresses from Annette Norley.
Thank you Annette for the wonderful dresses. Thank you for your unwavering support of dressing girls around the world. It is much appreciated. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #108 - Dresses from Sue-ellen

Number 108 on the list and still for the month of August is a parcel of 14 dresses and a fabric material for boys' pair of shorts from Sue-ellen Cox. What a wonderful additions to the parcels leaving for 2 regions in Uganda soon.
To Sue-ellen, thank you so much for the dresses and the fabric material. Thank you for helping make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged kiddies around the world. Thank you for supporting Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. Much appreciated.

A break from dresses, t-shirts and shorts

Last month while preparing and sorting about 350 dresses for Cambodia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines I needed a break from dresses so I took pictures of all the handmade totes and bags, fabric postcards and other handmade items I made which I was going to sell at the recent Dreamers Markets. The last two weeks I have been preparing and sorting again including counting t-shirts for Abim Uganda and this morning I thought I needed another break. I was on my way out to drive to the postoffice when I saw my pairs of rubber shoes in the garage. I said to myself why not take pictures of them and blog about it for a change from taking pictures and blogging on dresses, shorts and t-shirts. So here they are. You do not have to read about them I just want a break - :-)

This pair of rubber shoes makes me dizzy - sometimes I wonder why I bought this kind.
This pair is still white after 5 years of wearing that my work colleague thinks I should one day jump into the mud wearing it so it goes brown as she gets distracted while we are walking - :-)
and this is my best buddy - after 10 years it is still wearable.
So can you tell from the pairs of rubber shoes I am wearing what kind of person I am? LOL!
Now I need to check if any of the couple of parcels I picked up at the postoffice this morning has any t-shirts. I might make my 178 t-shirts today.


Friday 16 August 2013

T-shirts for Abim #8 - from the Rowlands

Bringing my total t-shirts received to-date to 164 and only 14 t-shirts away from the goal of 178 t-shirts for the kiddies in Abim, Uganda is a parcel of 15 t-shirts and 2 pairs of shorts from Cassandra, Olivia and Angelica Rowland.
To Cassandra, Olivia and Angelica, what a wonderful and joyous Christmas it would be for the kiddies in Abim, Uganda with your contributions to the 'T-shirts for Abim' charity Drive. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. It is much appreciated. Thank you. 

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #107 -Another parcel from Sarah

Number 106 on the list is a parcel of 7 dresses and 4 fabric headbands from Sarah Tanmahapran and her contribution still for the month of August. She definitely is living the year 2013 making a difference and has not failed a month yet. 
Thank you Sarah for the time and effort you spend making these dresses. Thank you for your unwavering support of dressing disadvantaged girls around the world. It is much appreciated. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #106 - 31 Girl's t-shirts from heyboom

Number 106 on the list is from my sister heyboom. 31 t-shirts for girls that I am going to use to make into t-shirt dresses. I still have about a dozen left from the previous batch and now I have another 31 for my one dress a day for 365 days journey which by the way I have a lot of catching up to do. I hope to restart my sewing when I finish my sorting and packing for Abim Uganda.
Thank you for the t-shirts heyboom. That is 31 t-shirt dresses to make in the near future. Thanks!

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #105 - From Lesleigh Mitcham

Back to dress donations and number 105 on the list is a parcel of 15 dresses from Lesleigh Mitcham.
Thank you Lesleigh. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Much appreciated.

Thursday 15 August 2013

T-shirts for Abim #7 - 27 tshirts and 5 pairs of shorts from Karin

I think we are almost there. Almost about to reach the goal of 178 t-shirts for the children of Abim Uganda with the addition of this batch of 27 t-shirts and 5 pairs of shorts from Karin Maltby.
Thank you so much Karin for these wonderful contributions to the "T-shirts for Abim" charity drive. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Much appreciated.

This bunch of 27 t-shirts has now brought up the t-shirts' total to 159. A few more and  we have reached the goal. WooHoo! Thank you everyone. What a difference it will be for the kiddies in Abim Uganda. What a colourful Christmas it would be for them. Thank you!

T-shirts for Abim #6 - 33 more t-shirts from Mo

Picked up from the postoffice today was a parcel of 33 more t-shirts coming from Mo O'Brien and that is 33 more kiddies in Abim Uganda receiving new t-shirts they can call their own.
To Mo, thank you so much for your support of this charity drive. It is much appreciated. Thank you.

With this bunch, total t-shirts received as of tonight is 132. What an amazing kindness and generosity from everyone who has donated so far. 132 boys having a wonderful and colourful Christmas this year. Thank you so much everyone.

T-shirts for Abim #5 - 15 more tshirts for Abim Uganda

I didnt go to work today to celebrate my Dad's 6th year anniversary and a good time to bring parcels of dresses to the postoffice to send to Victoria (3x for Cambodia), Queensland (2x for Sri Lanka) and a parcel of quilts for Romania. 

After a visit/flowers for our Dad and lunch, I went to the mall with $250 in my pocket (in fact I went twice in the morning and this pm) and 6 parcels of dresses to send. Came back home with $4.40 left in my pocket and this. 15 t-shirts@$3.00 each from K-mart. 
The cheapest I could find. If I had more dollars left I could have bought more to reserve for the kids in Wilcannia. Maybe next time.

Tuesday 13 August 2013

More notes from Margie Burke's Quilt-A-Long

Here are more notes from Margie Burke for those who are quilting along. These notes are specifically for those wanting to use novelty prints in their quilts.

Any questions you may have, please feel free to ask Nanny. Happy Quilting along!

Thank you so much Ladies

Now that I am starting to pack for Abim, Uganda it is time to thank a special group of people who will be such a big help in this project. I kept these funds untouched (some for months) knowing that someday there might be a great need for it ..if and when something special is going to happen and indeed that time has come. 

My deepest and heartfelt thank you to Cassandra N Biadacz, Sharyn Paull, Yasmine Bayaziti and Karen Hislop for their financial contributions to support Dress A Girl Australia's campaign to provide dresses and pairs of shorts and in special cases t-shirts to disadvantaged children anywhere in the world. Thank you for helping make a difference to the lives of 342 schoolkids in Abim, Uganda in your own special way, for giving these special kids the chance to celebrate christmas with a difference this year through your kindness and generosity. It is very much appreciated. Thank you so much.

Monday 12 August 2013

Quilt-A-Long Tutorial 3 from Margie

Is everyone still quilting-a-long with Margie and the rest of us who wants to make a difference to a child in Romania this year? Well, here comes Tutorial 3 on sewing the squares Part 2. Just click on the image below to go to the tutorial or click on the 'Quilt-A-Long' with Margie Burke tab which you can find at the top of this page.
Want to live the year 2013 making a difference and still undecided on what to do? Want to learn a new skill? Then quilt-a-long with Margie and learn how to make a quilt, enjoy the experience of making one and make a difference to the life of a child in Romania during their winter through your quilt, your kindness and your generosity.

For more details, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com

Dress Distribution #33 - For the children of Cambodia c/o Free to Shine Parcel 3

Finally the last parcel of 3 for the children of Cambodia to be distributed in September. As mentioned earlier, donors of some of these dresses have already been acknowledged in the previous 2 articles.
Here is the parcel -
and here are the contents - 45 dresses adding up to 150 dresses all in all -
made possible by the following donors -

1)  Frances Cornish
2) Jennifer Howlett
3) Kim Foster
4) Erlyn Ballesta and the members of the Cenacle, Servants of the Lord and Espiritu Santo Parochial School in Sydney,
5) My mum Jolly Sun
6) Louise Wright
7) My sister heyboom for all the t-shirts used in the T-shirt dresses
8) Dress A Girl Australia

For larger images of the dresses, please click here. For more details on this dress distribution (and also at a later stage when feedback is received) please click here or click on the 'Dress Distribution' tab which you can find at the top of this page.

Many, many thanks to all the donors who made this distribution possible. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for helping make a difference....with one small dress at a time.

My heartfelt thank you to Nicky Mih, CEO of Free to Shine non-profit organization for giving me the opportunity to provide dresses to her organization to distribute to the children they lovingly support in Cambodia in September. Thank you so much Nicky.


*** Free to Shine organization keeps girls safe by providing scholarships to girls at high risk of being trafficked into the commercial sex industry, and providing university scholarships to survivors so that they can play a crucial part in ending sex slavery. To know more about the work of Free to Shine, please click here or check out their facebook page here.

Thank you all for your kindness and generosity.


Dress A Girl Australia wants to say thank you very much to the following groups of people who are helping a lot in making it more possible for the Ladies of Kapunda Sewing Group to keep on making a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children around the world. For making the dream of every disadvantaged girl in the world to own at least one dress a reality and not just imaginary for every girl deserves to own at least one.

First on the list is the Tabor Lutheran Ladies Guild of Tanunda for the bundles of beautiful fabrics they have donated for the Ladies of Kapunda to make into dresses and possibly quilts for the scraps.

To the Robertstown Senior Citizens for the bundles of beautiful fabrics they donated to the ladies and for their generous donation of $100.00 which the ladies used to order for 100 pairs of undies from "Karens shoes" and thank you to Karen's Shoes for their support.

And last but not the least to The Robertstown General Store owned by Merv, Cheryl and Rhonda Lehman for their donation of 26 pairs of  shorts for the boys.

Thank you everyone for your unwavering support of Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. It is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Sunday 11 August 2013

Dress Distribution #33 - For the Children of Cambodia c/o Free to Shine Parcel 2

This is Parcel 2 of 3 for the children of Cambodia that will be distributed on Dress A Girl Australia's behalf by the Free to Shine non-profit organization in September. As I have mentioned previously, I think I created a mess of the pictures. Some of the donors on this parcel actually have the dresses they donated in Parcel 1 and vice versa. It should not matter anyway as all 3 parcels holding 150 dresses are all going to Cambodia.
Here is the parcel of 55 dresses -
and here are the contents of the parcel -
made possible by the following donors :

1) Jennifer Howlett
2) Heyboom for the t-shirts
3) Sharyn Paull
4) Sarah Tanmahapran
5) Maureen O'Brien
6) Annette Norley

For larger images of the dresses, please click here. For more details on this dress distribution (and also at a later stage when feedback is received) please click here or click on the 'Dress Distribution' tab which you can find at the top of this page.

Many, many thanks to all the donors who made this distribution possible. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for helping make a difference....with one small dress at a time.

*** Free to Shine organization keeps girls safe by providing scholarships to girls at high risk of being trafficked into the commercial sex industry, and providing university scholarships to survivors so that they can play a crucial part in ending sex slavery. To know more about the work of Free to Shine, please click here or check out their facebook page here.

Update on the "T-shirts for Abim" Charity Drive

Good Morning everyone. Here is an update to the "T-shirts for Abim" Charity Drive. As of today I have received 99 t-shirts and about 34 more on the way to Sydney. My heartfelt thank you to all who have contributed so far. Much appreciated.

Still have more space in the parcel for about 50 more t-shirts between the sizes of 8 and 10. Here is the latest count of what is still needed. Am still about 13 days away from the closing date so I hope I will be able to receive more between now and the end date of the 25th of August but at the same time I am starting to trigger my Contingency plan A just in case I get short of the 178. Cant let these kiddies down.


Size 6 : 17          Size 8 : 4 

Size 10 : 20          Size 12 : 11

If you are thinking of making a difference in your life this year 2013 and not sure what that is, one t-shirt for a kid in Abim, Uganda might just be that something. 

Make the kids in Abim have a wonderful and colourful Christmas this year through your kindness and generosity. Thanks heaps!

Welcome Julie from Gawler S.A.

A new sewing group has been formed and organized by Julie Bolton in Gawler, South Australia. Gawler is about half-an-hour away from Kapunda(according to Google).  The group 'The Hewett Community Centre Group' will have their first sewing bee or will be meeting next on Wednesday, 14th of August. Ladies from Gawler or nearby locations who are looking for something fun and rewarding to do especially on a weekday, this will be it so please contact Julie Bolton for more details.

This is Julie with her dresses. Since Julie found out about Dress A Girl last month, she has so far made 30 dresses and has even taught a neighbours girl (wow!) to sew and has completed 2 dresses also on her own. Great job!
Welcome Julie. Welcome to Dress A Girl (Around the World) Australia. I hope you have fun and enjoy making a difference to the lives of the disadvantaged kiddies around the world. Thank you.

Highlights during the week

Lots of great things happened during the week which some of you might be eager to know. Firstly, 4 bigs bags of dress materials were dropped off at my place last Monday by Jenni Kirillov. The bag of materials are owned by her mum who was an avid dressmaker years ago but due to health reasons have not been able to sew for many years now and has requested to find a good home for all her materials. My heartfelt thank you to Jenni's mum for the dress materials and to Jenni for delivering the goodies. I will  make a few dresses for her to include in the Uganda and Cambodia parcels very soon. Thank you.

Next highlight is that my employer (I work full-time M to F) launched an exciting new initiative called The Side by Side program. The program provides its employees with the opportunity to apply for a one-off Grant of up to $5,000 that will be awarded to their nominated eligible community organization. I applied for the grant and nominated Save the Children Australia for their community work in Wilcannia NSW under Belinda Ritchie.The results will be known in early October and I hope she wins the grant. If she wins the grant, a playground will probably be provided for the kids and their parents who accompanies their kids three times a week and new activity tables for the kids to use and enjoy and perhaps develop their skills in art as I have been told that the kids love to draw and colour. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my nomination is successful.

Last but not the least, distributions of dresses and pairs of shorts and accessories . About 560 dresses and 178 pairs of shorts and 178 tshirts are leaving my humble abode this month for Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Uganda and the Philippines.

For those wishing to make dresses to donate, preference at this time is for pillowcase dresses between the size of 7 to 12. Thank you!

And here is the postal address for any contributions to this very worthwhile cause -
                                      Dress A Girl Australia
                                      P.O. Box 240
                                      Casula Mall Casula
                                      NSW 2170

Dont forget the 'T-shirts for Abim' and '100 Days of Quilting' charity drives are still going on. The 'T-shirts for Abim' is soon to close (25th of August) so if you want to do something different, perhaps donating a t-shirt to this cause would appeal to you. Come and join us...living the year 2013 making a difference. For more information, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. Thank you.

Thank you so much in advance.

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/08 #104 - Parcel of 54 dresses, 51 knickers and 15 pairs of shorts from Toni

In addition to the 14 t-shirts and a quilt, included in the parcel and number 104 on the list were 54 dresses, 51 pairs of knickers and 15 pairs of shorts from Toni Kirkpatrick. It was indeed a large parcel filled with warmth, kindness and generosity.
Thank you so much Toni for the parcel of goodies. Thank you for helping make a difference to the lives of the less fortunate children around the world. It is very much appreciated. Thank you.

T-shirts for Abim #4 - 14 t-shirts from Toni

Fourth parcel of the week containing 14 t-shirts is from Toni Kirkpatrick as her contribution to the "T-shirts for Abim" charity drive. That is another 14 boys having a colourful time this Christmas in Abim Uganda.


Thank you so much Toni for making this dream possible through your kindness and generosity. Thank you for living the year 2013 making a difference to the disadvantaged children in Uganda. It is very much appreciated.

If anyone wants to make a difference in this world through a t-shirt, come and join us. There is still more room for more t-shirts not only for the kids in Uganda but also in other locatons. Boys' t-shirts are always welcome. Thank you.

Quilt #6 from Toni

Quilt #6 for another child to be kept warm this winter through her kindness and generosity is from Toni Kirkpatrick.
Thank you Toni. It is very much appreciated.

Again, everyone, if you want to keep a child in Romania warm this winter, join us by making a quilt. If you are new to quilting, enjoy the experience of learning how to make a quilt and at the same time make a difference in this world by joining the "Quilt-A-Long" with Margie Burke. Margie's tutorials are so easy to follow. Check them out by clicking here or click on the tab "Quilt-A-Long" with Margie Burke which you can find at the top of this page. Thank you.

Saturday 10 August 2013

Quilt #5 from Vanya Bryant

Child number 5 kept warm during their winter with quilt #5 from Valda Bryant. Also in the satchel were 7 pink beanies. What a wonderful gesture.
Here is what was inside the satchel -
and here is Vanya who made the quilt and the 7 beanies with her husband Paul who she said puts up with the pins in the carpet. :-)

Thank you Vanya for making another child warm this winter and more warm for 7 more kiddies with the 7 beanies. I sure will tucked in these beanies in the quilts. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

If you want to keep a child in Romania warm in their winter this year and in the years to come, join us by making a quilt. Make the child feel comfort and joy during her winter season with your kindness and generosity. 

If you are new to quilting, then join us and enjoy the experience of learning how to make a quilt and at the same time make a difference to the life of a child. Join the Quilt-A-Long with Margie Burke. You can find the Quilt-A-Long here or click on the tab 'Quilt-A-Long with Margie Burke' which you can find at the top of this page.

For quilt donations, please send them to Dress A Girl Australia P.O. Box 240 Casula Mall Casula NSW 2170. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgement FY13/07 #103 - 4 dresses and 12 pairs of shorts from Mo

It is time for donation acknowledgement(and give me a break from sorting and packing) and Number 103 on the list is a parcel of 4 dresses and 12 pairs of shorts from Mo O'Brien. Also on this parcel were 23 T-shirts for the "T-shirts for Abim" charity drive which has been acknowledged separately.
Here are the dresses and the pairs of shorts -
Thank you Mo for the dresses and the pairs of shorts. Thank you for your unwavering support of dressing girls and boys from the less fortunate locations around the world. Thank you. Much appreciated.

T-shirts for Abim #3 - 23 tshirts from Mo

The third parcel of 23 t-shirts for the 'T-shirts for Abim' Charity Drive comes from Mo O'Brien. This parcel also came with 12 pairs of shorts....that is 12 lucky boys with new sets of t-shirts and shorts to wear and enjoy and have a very colourful Christmas.
Thank you so much Mo for making this difference possible. Thanks heaps!

Come and join us. There is still more room for another 60 t-shirts between the sizes of 8 to 12 in my Christmas parcel to Abim Uganda. Through your kindness and generosity, Abim will have a very colourful Christmas. Please help make a difference to the lives of 178 kids by contributung to this wonderful cause of providing new t-shirts to match their new pair of shorts they each will receive as a Christmas present. Make a difference, live the year 2013 making a difference...with one colourful t-shirt at a time. Thank you.

For t-shirt donations, please send them to Dress A Girl Australia P.O. Box 240, Casula Mall Casula NSW 2170. Thank you in advance.

Friday 9 August 2013

Dress Distribution #33 - For the Children of Cambodia c/o Free to Shine Parcel 1

This dress distribution is for 150 children for Cambodia that will be distributed by the Free to Shine organization in September. These dresses will be handcarried by the CEO of Free to Shine Nicky Mih and other volunteers who will be travelling to Cambodia in September. I have splitted the 150 dresses into 3 parcels to make the parcels easier for me to bring to the postoffice to send to Victoria.
Here is the first parcel of 50 dresses (the other 2 parcels will be posted separately) -
and here are the contents of the parcel (first 50 dresses in the album)
made possible by the following donors :

1) Deidre Parker
2) Ladies of Kapunda Sewing Group S.A.
3) Two Bettys - Betty Barrett and Betty Paull
4) Wendy Yates
5) Linda Smyth

For larger images of the dresses, please click here. For more details on this dress distribution (and also at a later stage when feedback is received) please click here or click on the 'Dress Distribution' tab which you can find at the top of this page.

My heartfelt thank you to all the donors who made this distribution possible. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for helping make a difference....with one small dress at a time.


*** Free to Shine organization keeps girls safe by providing scholarships to girls at high risk of being trafficked into the commercial sex industry, and providing university scholarships to survivors so that they can play a crucial part in ending sex slavery. To know more about the work of Free to Shine, please click here or check out their facebook page here.