LWC: American Girl Doll Sew-a-Thon

The Lakeside Women’s Club’s 5th Annual Sew-a-Thon will take place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31 and Friday, Sept. 1, as well as 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5 and Wednesday, Sept. 6 at the Rhein Center.

During the Sew-a-Thon, participants will sew American Girl doll clothes and bags for the children at the Ronald McDonald Houses (RMH). Experienced and casual sewists are invited to join.

Participants will help sew and assemble robes, pajamas, sundresses, pants and a top, as well as decorative bags to hold the clothing, for the American Girl dolls that Mattel donates to the RMHs.

The Sew-a-Thon originally started as a casual conversation between neighbors Wendy Stuhldreher and Ginger Leonard in 2018 and turned into an annual Lakeside event benefiting multiple RMHs.

To prepare for the event, Stuhldreher collects fabric and thread donations and organizes setup at the Rhein Center. Once the event has ended, she finishes the bag assembly and delivers them to the designated locations.

This year’s goal for the project is to complete bags with outfits for RMHs in Greenville, South Carolina; Winston Salem, North Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.

According to Stuhldreher, this is a doable goal with the 30 volunteers who have graciously signed up to help the event so far.

Stuhldreher notes that her favorite part of the Sew-a-Thon is how people come together to help others and make it a joyful thing.

To volunteer, reach out to Stuhldreher at 412-551-6612 or wendystuhl@verizon.net. If you are not bringing your own sewing machine, you’ll need to register online to use one of their six machines.

If you cannot volunteer but would still like to help, please drop off donations to the Lakeside Women’s Club at 161 Walnut Ave. or to Stuhldreher at 462 Maple Ave.

Donations accepted include cotton or cotton blend fabrics (small prints only or solids), flannel material, plain fleece, ¼inch elastic, sew-on Velcro (¾ inch) and fabric trim.