HELPING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

When the global pandemic hit in spring 2020 we were left feeling disoriented and distressed, like so many around the world. As the days wore on, the feeling of helplessness was slowly replaced with a sense of determination and resolve. Wanting to help our community in any way possible, we realized we had all the resources needed to make a difference. Partnering with our local workroom and using fabric remnants from projects past, we were able to get masks into the hands that needed them most. Providing masks to the nurses at Woffson’s Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville brought us joy and a sense of purpose during these trying times. We are so thankful for the everyday heroes in our community and are happy we could contribute in our own small way.

Monique’s Threads of Love — Women Helping Women

Nesting Place Interiors is proud to be a partner of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish’s Sister Parish Ministry. The Sister Parish Ministry has cultivated a years-long relationship with a small, impoverished community in the Dominican Republic. Through faith based service, the ministry has provided spiritual, educational and physical support. Whether it be in the form of prayer services, construction of a new school building or park, new home construction, educational programs or free medical clinics, the Sister Parish Ministry is committed to the support of this special community.

Members of the Nesting Place team have been blessed to be a part of this special work. After visiting several times, we knew there had to be more we could do and began to reflect on what our contribution could look like, especially for the impoverished women who have to support their families with extremely limited resources. We found inspiration in Miss Monique, a very special volunteer who gave up her own life to move permanently to the Dominican Republic and became a fixture in the community. Miss Monique taught the local women the skill of embroidery and they started by embroidering cards. Another volunteer in the Sister Parish Ministry then came up with the idea of embroidering dinner napkins with coastal motifs. One day, some Nesting Place team members were looking at a pile of gorgeous discontinued fabric samples and remnants that were headed to the landfill when a lightbulb went off. We realized we could save the fabric and give it to the women in the Dominican, and then the ministry could teach the women how to sew items in addition to the embroidered napkins they were already producing. This project was truly a collaborative effort that has grown over the years, all beginning with Miss Monique.

Our friends in the Dominican have now been taught to sew small purses, zipper pouches, belts, embroidered napkins and more. Alongside Sister Parish Ministry we are able to contribute to the training and materials, we have helped the women become more independent and they now have a means to provide for their families. Their work is sold at the annual Our Lady Star of the Sea Church Expo, at small local craft markets, at Cottage by the Sea Jax Beach and at ACP Home Interiors Jacksonville. 100% of sales goes directly back to the women, allowing them to support their families.

If you’d like to learn more about this special ministry, or to purchase a fabulous hostess gift for yourself or someone you know, please contact us | INQUIRE HERE