For more than a decade, the members of the group have been making children’s clothing and shipping it all over the world.

This year, the plight of millions of refugees from Ukraine caught their attention.

“It was so desperate,” Donna Bumbarger said. “If we could do anything…”

“They’ve left so much behind,” Pat Campbell said.

Photo submitted to Times Observer Volunteers from First Ukrainian Pentecostal Church and Grace Slavic Pentecostal Church, both of Erie, prepare donated items for shipment to Poland where they will be given to Ukrainian refugees.

“Some of them only had one bag,” Bumbarger said. “It was a growing need and people started responding. We started researching how we could get something done.”

They knew what they could do. There were six group members who were most active at the time of this need — Bumbarger, Campbell, Debbie Edling, Dee Dee Tucker, Laura Drake, and Phyllis Wright. They could make clothing for children.

What they didn’t know was how to get the fruits of their labors directly into the hands of those who need them.

“Erie had resources where people could leave things,” Bumbarger said. “That was our initial plan.”

But the Rev. Jon Swart, then of Mission Covenant Church in Sugar Grove, offered a better alternative.

Photo submitted to Times Observer Warren County presents a monetary donation as aid for Ukrainian refugees. Pictured (from left) Rebekah Swart and Nettie Swart, currently of First United Methodist Church of Warren, Ruth Ribalko of Grace Slavic Pentecostal Church of Erie, and Sara Hamilton and Paula Morningstar of Mission Covenant Church of Sugar Grove.

Swart was working with First Ukrainian Pentecostal Church and Grace Slavic Pentecostal Church, both in Erie.

Volunteers there put together shipments to Poland that would get directly into the hands of Ukrainian refugees. Donations of money, food, toiletries, diapers, and clothing were collected there. “There’s not one dime that goes for overhead,” Swart said.

A shipment that went out about two weeks ago included 184 children’s outfits courtesy of the Sewing Mission.

There are plenty of people in need.

“There are over 5 million refugees that have crossed over into Poland,” Swart said. “It’s a global event. Ireland has taken 27,000 refugees.”

The group has been relatively short on activity for the past two years.

“There wasn’t any travel,” Bumbarger said. “We were on hold for a while.”

But, they are eager to get back to helping.

“We’re always looking for takers and opportunities,” Bumbarger said. “I don’t like seeing clothes sitting. They need to go somewhere.”

They don’t want to put things in the mail to go overseas.

Most of their shipments travel via suitcase — it’s cheaper and more likely to make it to the chosen destination. “We can put 80 pieces in a roller,” Dee Dee Tucker said.

Ukraine is at the top of the list now, but there are plenty of people throughout the world who can use clothing.

The group is looking into a path to Mexico.

“Haiti is still on our list,” Wright said.

The Dominican Republic will receive a shipment.

Since about 11 members got together in 2011, there have been shipments of clothing to Haiti, Africa, Paraguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and destinations in the United States.

Most of the places that have received shipments from the mission are tropical. The group usually puts a premium on cotton. The more temperate climate of Ukraine and Poland has given them a use for flannel, denim, and other heavier fabrics.

“All of our fabric has been donated,” Wright said.

Trim — lace to elastic — and buttons have also been donated to the cause.

Sometimes they need something specific. If they go to a local store, they often find very generous arrangements when management hears what they’re working on.

The members break down the work.

“They don’t have to just be sewers,” Bumbarger said.

“When we started, we had a lot of people who didn’t want to be cutters,” Caldwell said. She volunteered for that job.

Debbie Edling uses her own patterns, Wright said.

Asked how many outfits she’s made in the past three years, Edling set the number at 387.

They often determine the sizes of the garments based on the fabric.

“I usually start with the biggest piece of fabric,” Edling said. If it’s enough for a large, she makes a large. Then she takes what she has next and works with that.

When the group can’t use a piece of fabric any more, it is not thrown away.

Pieces that are at least eight inches square are taken to the First Lutheran Church’s quilting group.

“A lot of the fabric that is unusable goes to the Toy Shoppe,” Tucker said. That group can use small pieces for clothing for its toys, tablecloths, even tiny napkins.

Sewing is a relaxing act of creativity, Campbell said.

When it is done for a donation, “it’s a good feeling that you’re helping someone,” she said.

“I want to commend these ladies,” Swart said. “We can have all the faith in the world, but ‘Faith without works is dead.'”

“They do it without any desire of limelight,” he said. “They already have their faith. Now, they’re putting their faith into action.”

“The bottom line is love,” Swart said.