Often times small ideas will lead to bigger ones. Such was the case for Oxford High School junior Emily Sovis.
For Christmas, Sovis wanted to give her mother a pair of wool mittens, but because wool mittens can be expensive, she decided to go to the Salvation Army store, buy some sweaters and sew a pair herself. At the same time she had been saving 10 percent of her weekly paychecks that she receives from her job at Vendetti’s to go towards an important cause.
As different charities and things to donate to would come across her path, Sovis, who is strong in her Christian faith, said she would pray about each one, but never ‘felt led to give.? While sitting in church one Sunday morning listening to her pastor at Oakwood Community Church give a sermon about ‘giving,? the inspiration of what to do with her money hit her. Instead of just making mittens as a Christmas gift for her mom, she decided to make several pairs and distribute them to those who could really need them.
‘It just came to me all of a sudden and I knew that’s what I should do and needed to do,? she added.
After getting permission from the church, Sovis reached out to the congregation to donate old sweaters that could be used to make the mittens and the Women’s Ministry to help sew. Sovis said she would supply the rest of the materials needed. Her goal was to make 50-100 mittens so they could distribute them to a rescue mission in Detroit.
‘The church thought it was a good idea,? she added. ‘So I came up with the project tile of ‘Mittens on a Mission? because I thought it fit.?
Sovis set Jan. 17 as the date for the ‘sewing party,? worried that she might not have a good turnout, she said as she started putting things into action it all fell into place.
‘People started calling and saying, ‘Hey, I am going to be there (and I’m) bringing my friends,?? she said. ‘So, I know it was really God (that) led me to do this.?
Sovis said she had about 30 people show up. ‘It went great,? she said. ‘We got about 12 pairs completely done and about 50 pair that need one or two things done to complete them.?
The project in total cost $450 but Sovis was able to get it down to $300 after a $150 savings at JoAnn Fabrics.
Sovis said they created a pair of mittens for men, women and children and she had a pre-made template for each with a color coded lining. When it came to the overall product, Sovis wanted quality.
‘I actually bought some really good (material), especially the inside (felt) lining. I wanted it to be really warm,? she said. ‘We also wanted to get really good threads that were durable, so if you could pull it and it broke, we didn’t want it. We got nice thread that will hold it together.?
Sovis gave each pair a little extra style by sewing buttons on them and attached to each button is a string with a piece paper and a Bible verse on it. She is hoping to distribute them to the mission in Detroit in the next week or so.
While she is proud of her project, her humble nature still showed through.
‘I don’t want it focused on ‘oh look what I’m doing,? I’m doing this because other people need it, not because it’s for me,? she said. ‘I just really wanted to give back and that’s where I was led to give.?
Her mom, Mary said she was also proud of her daughter.
‘I just think it’s neat that she’s going forward with it. That she wants to do this for the community and help other people. I think that’s really neat at her age because she is involved in so (many other things),? Mary said. ‘She’s not only giving her money, but giving her time and she’s helping people who may be overlooked.?
Mary said her daughter has always been the ‘creative type,? which is why she is currently going to OTech in Pontiac and studying cosmetology. ‘Hair, make-up, nails, I want to do it all,? Emily said.
As far as ‘Mittens on a Mission,? Emily is hoping to make it an annual project.
‘That would be really cool,? she said. ‘Next year maybe we’ll make matching scarves and we’ll do it earlier so that people can have mittens before December and it’s getting cold outside.?