[Diocese of Los Angeles] Members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pomona, California, launched a ministry to help dress young girls around the world and revitalized community in their own backyard.
On a recent Saturday, about a dozen women and men in the church’s Sophia room were busily laying out patterns, cutting, stitching and ironing vibrant animal print and flowered materials to make sleeveless dresses to send to Dress A Girl Around the World.
“When we have finished 100 dresses, we send them off to be distributed,” said Jo Ann Newton, St. Paul’s senior warden. Newton inspired the ministry, which began in June 2024.
“Dress A Girl” is a campaign of Hope for Women International, a Christian nonprofit women’s empowerment organization. The sleeveless, zipper-less, buttonless dresses, made to specification, bear the organization’s labels which, Newton hopes, could help prevent young girls from becoming victims of human trafficking.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pomona, California, launched a dressmaking ministry to make and donate dresses to Dress A Girl Around the World, a campaign of Hope for Women International, a Christian nonprofit women’s empowerment organization. Photo: Diocese of Los Angeles
“Young girls in need have always been near and dear to my heart. Many people in this country don’t realize there are children without clothes,” she said, affirming the organization’s mission to raising awareness of human trafficking while distributing the dresses.
Newton shared her vision with Sandra Martinez-Moore, chair of the church’s chapter of the Daughters of the King, an international order of women of Episcopal and other faiths who dedicate themselves to a life of prayer and service. Martinez-Moore embraced the ministry, and it has continued to expand.
The women – and a few men – gather on the first Saturday of each month to sew, using donated materials and machines. They also work at home, according to Martinez-Moore. She said she was there with her mother, Anna Toledo, who makes about 14 dresses each week.
“The wonderful thing is, the men in the church were excited by what we were doing, so they formed a men’s ministry,” Newton said. “They wanted to work alongside us in some way and in December, we had a joint project.”
By Christmas, members were making stockings for the children attending a preschool renting space on their campus. The men’s ministry purchased small toys to put in the stockings “and we had a party for the children,” Newton said. “We’d never had a relationship with the preschool before. Now, the men’s ministry is activated, and they are planning other things for this year.”
Extra stockings were taken to a nearby shelter; now the church is planning an Easter outreach to the shelter as well. Enthusiasm has continued to build. Another plan in the works is to create a quilted reversible bag and other fundraisers to celebrate St. Paul’s 150th anniversary in 2026.
“We are planning a year’s worth of activities,” said Patricia Hernandez, who attends the monthly gatherings. “People come and do what they can.”
Dress A Girl has “brought new life” to the parish which, like some 40 other churches in the Diocese of Los Angeles, has been without permanent clergy. St. Paul’s had both lay and supply clergy leadership, but until recently had seemed to be floundering, according to Hernandez.
Now, there is hope, and there are plans for the future. “We are still going to be here,” Hernandez said.
“I joined the church because of this ministry,” said Diana Bermudez, a teacher and new vestry member, who brought along a friend March 1 to help with the sewing. “I like to make a difference, and this has already made one. Coming to the sewing ministry was, for me, a calling.”
Bill Laws, St. Paul’s administrator, said he needed a lot of “handholding” while learning to make bias tape to finish the neckline and armholes of the dress he was working on.
The dresses are an A-line pattern with front, back, side panels and no fastenings, and made of cotton, with pockets. Sizes range from toddlers up to 12 or 14, according to Louise Barbee. “Once buttons or zippers are lost or broken, the garment isn’t usable anymore” so the dresses slip on easily over the head, she said.
Bolts of donated material fill a nearby closet where the machines and other accessories are stored between gatherings. Bright-colored dresses are on hangers, and laughter fills the room as the members gather.
The ministry has also attracted people from the local community, said Martinez-Moore, adding: “We want to see Dress A Girl in every church in the diocese.”