Every month, groups of women in three southwest Missouri cities gather for a work day. Some cut men’s shirts, others sew fabric into dresses and shorts, while others oversee and check garments for quality control. Together, these Ozarks women, regardless of sewing ability, have contributed thousands of garments for children in poverty around the world.
The southwest Missouri group is a local chapter of Dress A Girl Around the World, a campaign under Hope 4 Women International nonprofit that focuses on providing girls in poverty with dresses to improve their self-esteem and indicate they are loved and cared for. The campaign brings together Christians regardless of denomination to put together clothes for children in need.
The effort to sew dresses for girls and shorts for boys in southwest Missouri started in Cassville eight years ago when Sue Cavness learned about the effort in Texas and decided to bring it back home. Since then, groups in Monett and Springfield have also formed…