The Dresses Are Finished!

The girls finished 14 dresses for Debbie Nichols and her Sewing Hands mission. This put her total to over 100 dresses. She hopes to complete 200 by May to send with Captain Bob Nichols when he travels to Ile La Vache, Haiti in May.

The girls had a great time. They loved running the machines! Many of the girls really enjoyed the sewing and are looking forward to another project. Maybe pillowcases next? For themselves or as another service project.

Ms. Debbie demonstrating how to cut a dress.

Girls begin a Sewing Project for Haiti Orphans

We just completed our second week of sewing dresses for orphans in Haiti. Ms. Debbie Nichols has started a project to make 200 dresses for orphans on Ile La Vache off the southern coast of Haiti. The plan is to send these dresses with Capt Bob Nichols when he returns in May. The Girls Club was excited to help, as they would learn to sew while making clothes for some very needy children.

Ms. Debbie came with all the materials and several ladies to help. Calling on our team of sewing ladies from last year, we added our team and some new friends from the Bonita Quilters. Twelve ladies came to sew the first week!

We thank Ms. Debbie Nichols for her wonderful organization, and her friends Lois Botkin and Peggy Simmons, and Lu Burkell, Sue Price, Mary Anne Hopkins and Carol Knowles from the last two years of Girls Club sewing. We were also very happy to have Jane Chopack a friend of Mary Anne's, and Susan Buckler, Pat Huisjen and Kathleen Morningstar from the Bonita Quilters. We can't wait to see the finished dresses!

Wiggins Pass Swim and BBQ Day for Fifth Graders

On August 3rd, Ms Sally and Ms. Caitlin loaded seven 5th graders into their cars and headed for Wiggins Pass State Park. They all enjoyed a fun day swimming and floating on noodles, playing in the sand, eating watemelon, hot dogs and hamburgers, and S'MORES! What a great place to talk about God's creation and all the beauty around us, as well as His plan for each one of us.

Our graduating girls are Adaly Bautista, Jazlyn Nunez, Ana Chavez, Angela Juarez, Vanessa Martinez, Jennifer Maldonado, Elizabeth Angon, Isabel Arroyo and Emily Garcia.

We will miss them, and we will pray for them all going into sixth grade. We ask for your prayers as well

Jazlyn, Adaly, Angela and Vanessa have been attending Super Kids club after school tutoring since they were in Kindergarten!

I am glad we have a teen program right here in Rosemary Park that these girls will attend. What a blessing!

Girls visit the Holy Land Experience in Orlando

Sixteen girls made the trip to Orlando on May 14th, accompanied by Lu Burkell, Mary Ann Hopkins, Caitlin Roberts, Rosemary Luna and Sally Ritter. What a great time! Feeling like we had been transported back to old Jerusalem, we walked the dusty streets and enjoyed the drama unfolding all around us. Communion with Jesus was first, then time in the Smile of A Child area with rock climbing.

After checking out Jonah in the belly of the whale and Jesus walking on water, we headed over to a show about the angels in our lives.
The girls really enjoyed Parables with Jesus, where they had a chance to act out the Good Samaritan and the lost sheep.

The play about the four women who loved Jesus was spellbinding, as some favorite Bible stories came to life.
This was followed by the Passion Play, followed by Jesus in the second coming when he returns as conquerer. This was the most impactful play, and left us all emotionally touched.





What a fabulous day, topped off with a trip to McDonalds.
Praise God, we did it all for less than the $800 the girls raised at their yard sale!
Thank you Ms Lu and Ms Mary Ann for the goodie bags for the girls!

Girls Club visits Estero Life Care

Seventeen girls spent last Saturday morning visiting the residents of Estero Life Care in Estero. Armed with homemade baskets filled with cookies and handmade cards, the girls went from one end of the facility to the other. They stopped to chat along the way and to share the songs that they know so well, singing of God's great love for all of us.

Adaly handing out cookie baskets

They loved to talk to a lady who spoke their native tongue, Spanish. She called them all her "ninos" (children)

Many of the residents had very interesting stories to tell. One lady had been a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall!

Lu Burkell and Mary Ann Hopkins treated everyone to lunch at Ci Ci's pizza, a favorite spot. We rounded out the day with a stop at the ice cream parlor. It was a fun day, but also a day for the girls to learn compassion and the importance of serving others.

Our Sewing Project is Finished!

Last Friday, the girls finished their aprons! With the skillful help of our team of sewing ladies! Great job girls! Several of the girls really enjoyed the sewing and would love to learn more. That is what it is all about at Girls Club, just giving girls an experience that would not otherwise have.

This was the first sewing project I ever made with my mother. There were four of us great friends who formed a club, and she taught all of us! She was a tea drinker, and every year we have a real English tea at Girls Club.
-Sally Ritter

Jane Breeze and Ana Chavez

Barbara Hay with Norma

The Sewing Ladies have returned!

Armed with sewing machines and nerves of steel, our Sewing Ladies have returned! Lu Burkell and Jane Breeze worked on patterns, organized the donated fabrics and made a sample apron. Linda Swank, Barbara Hays, Sue Price and Carol Knowles also returned from their "tour of duty" last year. The girls were so glad to see them all! They love working one on one.

Lu Burkell with Vanessa

Jane Breeze helping Elizabeth pin

Caitlin teaching Vanessa how to baste