POCATELLO — The sounds of sergers and sewing machines will be abuzz at the First Presbyterian Church located at 202 S. 7th Ave. come Monday.

    The nondenominational event will be held from 1-4 p.m. in support of a global project called “Little Dresses for Africa.”

    “You don’t necessarily have to know how to sew to help out,” points out one of the coordinators, Julie Van Osdol. “Volunteers can cut out patterns and press the dresses once they are completed.”

    Van Osdol teamed up with fellow longtime church member Cindi Coffland to get the local effort in motion. The sundresses are distributed to African girls at orphanages, schools and churches by way of the non-profit organization.

    “I heard about the effort through a TV program,” Coffland explains. “When I finally had the chance to check out their website, I thought we could easily get behind this. We all have stashes of fabric lying around the house. It was just one of those things that touched my heart.”

    A group of 30 Christians gathered on August 13 to stitch together dresses for children who may be in need of a positive boost.

    “Boys are valued, while the girls are not,” Van Osdol says. “We’re doing this for little girls in crisis, because they need some love too.”

    The group of women, who are self-described “sewaholics,” have already churned out over 30 dresses.

    “We break it down into steps and form an assembly line of sorts,” Van Osdol explains. “This is a community wide effort. People from all ages and all walks of life are welcome to join in.”

    Van Osdol says donations are also welcome in the form of extra wide, double fold biased tape, 45 inch wide cotton fabric and trim. Eventually, she will be seeking out a sponsor to help pay for the shipping costs.

    To date, over one million dresses have been donated to the cause from people in all 50 United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Girls in over 42 African countries have benefited by the program’s donors.

    “It’s what God calls us to do,” Van Osdol concludes. “We’re trying to share kindness and goodness throughout the world.”

    For more information with regards to the local effort dial (208) 232-3439.