Today, we are asking for your help as we step into a new era to meet the demands of our rapidly changing world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2015, Common Threads of Maine has taught industrial and commerical sewing skills and assisted in job placement at local manufacturers. Over 137 people have completed our 10-week class and have gone on to work stable jobs to support their families and contribute to their community.

On March 12, 2020, the Maine CDC reported the first case of the novel coronavirus in the state. Just two weeks before the graduation of our 12th class of professional stitchers, we made the difficult decision to shut down the school. We knew that the health and safety of our staff, students, and their families had to be our top priority. We did not know what the future would hold for our organization.

In the coming weeks, it became clear that our country was in desperate need of PPE wear for frontline workers and civilians.  By early April our family at American Roots had reformatted their entire operation to build masks and face shields. This sudden pivot was a huge undertaking, and they needed help. Within a week we had developed a training module tailored to their products, reorganized our classroom to be CDC compliant, and we recruited the first cohort of students.

We heard the call to action, and we rose to the task.

During the second week of the program, we learned that a student had been exposed to COVID 19 and we decided to pause the program for 14 days. During the break, we reformatted our classroom with tablet computers for students. We videotaped lessons for them to watch as instructors taught from 6 feet away. We got very creative and it worked! In eight weeks, we trained 50 stitchers, most of whom were hired immediately to work full time for American Roots.

Today we are continuing to build individualized modules for businesses that are in need of professional stitchers. Our new model supports smaller class sizes and our tailor-made programs better ensure that students will go directly to work despite an uncertain job market. We are asking for your help to continue empowering workers and assisting the growth of Maine manufacturers.

With your support, we can change the world, one thread at a time. Please donate to Common Threads of Maine today.

We are grateful for our community and all who are working to make the world better during these very difficult times.

In solidarity,

Dory Waxman and the family of Common Threads of Maine

Visit our website at www.commonthreadsmaine.org