Leftover Fabrics Become New Backpacks for the Homeless

The following is an excerpt from a post by Bernie Nagle, a partner who has worked with us on many of our process improvements. This summer, Bernie organized the donation of ARV's unused fabrics toward a good cause.  

Backpacks for Cleveland homeless sewn by the men at Grafton Correctional Institution ODRC facility, with materials donated by local custom RV builder, Advanced RV LLC. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to do some Continuous Improvement consulting work with Willoughby, OH custom RV builder, Advanced RV LLC. In the process of building these amazing, totally-customized RVs, ARV crafts-people sew and fabricate all the curtains, pillows, beds, shades, and even upholstery for seats. Unused fabric is saved for the RV buyer but when the buyer does not want the material it used to end up in the trash. But not anymore.  

In my Prison Ministry work with the men at Grafton I became familiar with the Sewing Training programs at Grafton Correctional and Grafton Reintegration Center. So I asked ARV owner, Mike Neundorfer, if they could save the unused material for use at the Grafton Correctional Tackers shop. Mike graciously agreed. On a visit to the Grafton Tackers shop on August 25, I dropped off the materials, and these pictures display some of the the men's handiwork.  

 

Not only do they make beautiful backpacks and blankets, but during the height of the Covid experience, they also made over 50,000 masks for the Cleveland Public School children. These men make great effort to give back and do what they can to leave the world a little warmer and brighter for having been here.  

 

I have spent many hours inside the walls at Grafton and the Women's Reintegration Center in Cleveland (NERC), facilitating a program called, "Living on Purpose". With these men and women I have experienced the best of humanity, intermingled with the sorrow, the remorse and the pain. I have learned so much from the sincerity and authentic truth these men and women share in our sessions, and I am a better man for knowing them. If there is one message I would like to share with everyone, it is this: "No one should ever be judged by the the worst thing they have ever done. You don't get to throw the rock unless you've never sinned".