I love up-cycling or repurposing unwanted items. Especially when they come from such a great place. I found the dresses I used for these collections at Ho'omana, a local thrift store that has a youth program where kids are taught simple tasks such as sweeping, mopping and customer service skills. They are also taught the importance of positive attitudes, self-motivation and the ability to work with little or no supervision. For every hour participants volunteer, they earn "Makana Money" which can be used to purchase merchandise in the store. They took the program a step further in 2010 and implemented the Financial Literacy Skills program where participants open their own bank accounts and learn how to write checks and create a budget based on their "needs" not "wants". Ho'omana is also a community partner with adult, teen, and drug courts enabling offenders to perform their required community service to complete their sentences. And as if all that isn't enough, they work with other community agencies to donate clothing and household items to people in need.
After learning all this I figure why limit myself to just dresses? Let's buy more from Ho'omana! How bout bikinis made from vintage silk shirts? Men's dress shirts? Anything is game. All I need is unique pattern and Im sold.
