In November we received a heartfelt email from a community member, Angie, who is "currently working at La Colaborativa, whose mission is to empower immigrants and their families in Chelsea and surrounding communities. Through grassroots organizing, environmental justice work, youth leadership programs, food access initiatives, health and healthcare initiatives and more, we support our community’s immediate needs while also building long-term systems change." Angie not only supports gather here by taking classes and picking up her craft supplies, she reads the newsletter and recognizes that it reaches a community of generous and engaged folks who just might want to help the most vulnerable among us.
Angie is on the right, next to our colleague, Caitlin. These five were all students in Lisa G's fall 2024 School of Sewing workshop. All of them sporting their handcrafted aprons after spending 6 weeks together finessing their machine sewing skills.
La Colaborativa is urgently seeking volunteers to help with:
- Delivering food to families who cannot come to their distribution site
- Assisting with food distribution and assembling food boxes
- Helping with Holiday Distribution in December, including food and toy distribution (calling all elves!)
- Craft instructors for community craft circles
Don't have time to volunteer? They welcome donations of care packages and blankets, as well as materials for healing circles, including:
- Yarn and fabric
- Tools and notions for knitting and crocheting
- Other crafting materials that can support community healing and creativity
- New and/or used supplies welcome. We request that items are in good condition, usable, not expired, and something you’d feel good offering to a neighbor.
We stress the importance of monetary donations. If you have the means, please donate today. Consider becoming a monthly donor for 2026, monthly donations make a huge difference and help non-profits mitigate the typical drop in donations at the start of each year.
*Since launching the We Care Wednesday initiative in January 2017 we have donated over $96,647 to a variety of nonprofits and mutual aid funds doing essential work in our community as well as other places. From the Mayor's Disaster Fund to BAGLY to Abortion Access Front and Material Aid and Advocacy. We select organizations that we feel represent not only our commitment to a better, more equitable world but also our desire to "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.