{"id":799,"date":"2012-08-12T21:51:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-12T21:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/teens-pillowcase-project-inspires-many-to-action\/"},"modified":"2012-08-12T21:51:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-12T21:51:00","slug":"teens-pillowcase-project-inspires-many-to-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/08\/teens-pillowcase-project-inspires-many-to-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen’s pillowcase project inspires many to action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vinton, Iowa, Aug 12, 2012 \/ 03:51 pm (CNA<\/a>).- Megan Ternus, a teenager leading a huge effort to provide handmade clothes to less fortunate children in Haiti, knows what it\u2019s like to walk in their shoes.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI\u2019m adopted from the Ukraine,\u201d said the 18-year-old student at Vinton-Shellsburg High School in Vinton. \u201cI had no clothing when I was their age.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tTernus and her brother Mitchell, now 16, lived at the same Ukrainian orphanage before becoming part of a family in Vinton, Iowa.<\/p>\n

\tThe young woman was seven years old when brought to the United States. She doesn\u2019t know much about her biological parents and only recently discovered while examining adoption records that she has a twin sister who she\u2019s never met.<\/p>\n

\tMemories of the poverty and hardship orphans face inspired her to take Jesus\u2019 teaching, \u201cclothe the naked\u201d (Matthew 25:35), to a whole new level.<\/p>\n

\tOn July 22, after Mass at St. Mary\u2019s Parish in Vinton, Ternus and her parish\u2019s Haiti committee will presented over 500 dresses to Father Marc Magloire, pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish in Belle Fontaine, Haiti.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI don\u2019t want to take full credit for this because there are so many people involved,\u201d said Ternus, humbly.<\/p>\n

\tThe energetic member of St. Mary\u2019s Parish got the idea for the project while attending the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis last November. She saw a brochure there about a program that uses pillowcases to make dresses for Haitian girls.<\/p>\n

\tUsing sewing skills she honed during many years participating in the 4-H Club, Ternus created her own designs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere are two patterns,\u201d explained Ternus as she pulled a dress from a rack of colorful garments hanging in St. Mary\u2019s basement. \u201cI use one for pillowcases and one for fabrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tWhy pillowcases? \u201cIt\u2019s simple and inexpensive; it\u2019s light cotton,\u201d explained the seamstress. \u201cIn Haiti, they wash everything in the river.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tTernus\u2019 parish has teamed up with All Saints Parish in Cedar Rapids. Both churches help support Notre Dame de Lourdes. Several groups have visited the Haitian parish, bringing supplies, financial support and other assistance.<\/p>\n

\tIn 2010, earthquakes devastated Haiti, generally regarded as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Out of a total population of about 10 million, about 3 million Haitians are age 14 or younger. There are estimated 500,000 orphaned children.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThese kids need someone to look up to and I feel like it can be me,\u201d said Ternus.<\/p>\n

\tLeo Wobeter, a member of St. Mary\u2019s Haiti committee delivered four of Ternus\u2019 dresses on a recent trip. He said he is impressed by the Ternus family, including Megan\u2019s parents Martin and Connie and her other siblings Molly, Matt and Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe\u2019ve watched these kids grow up,\u201d said Wobeter. \u201cThey\u2019ve done such a wonderful job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAfter the initial delivery, Ternus set the goal of creating 250 more dresses.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI thought 250 was going to be impossible,\u201d said Ternus, who was surprised at the community response that allowed her to more than double that figure.<\/p>\n

\tTernus enlisted the help of many from her hometown of about 6,000 and beyond. Since December 2011, the effort has expanded to include other area churches, local businesses, such as the Viking Sewing Center in Vinton, and hundreds of individuals from seven states.<\/p>\n

\tTernus and her mother have been holding sewing workshops at St. Mary\u2019s on a regular basis, teaching participants how to make the dresses. Some people donate materials.<\/p>\n

\tAlthough a majority of the dresses are made out of pillowcases that have been modified and decorated, some are crafted from the diverse array of fabric donations.<\/p>\n

\tMost feature intricate designs, including embroidering or graphics.<\/p>\n

\tThe dresses vary in size for girls up to 18. The volunteers also recently began making male and female school uniforms, created from solid kelly green fabric. Haitian students must have uniforms to attend school, but many cannot afford them, so they cannot attend classes.<\/p>\n

\tTernus says she hopes there will be a second batch sent in September and a third next spring. Father Magloire, who is pastor of many other Haitian parishes besides Notre Dame, will help distribute the clothes.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey\u2019re all hand-delivered,\u201d said Ternus. \u201cWe don\u2019t want them ending up on the black market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAnyone interested in sewing or donating materials to the project can contact St. Mary\u2019s Parish in Vinton at 319-472-3368 or Viking Sewing Center at 319-472-2660.<\/p>\n

\tPosted with permission from The Witness<\/a>, official newspaper for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Vinton, Iowa, Aug 12, 2012 \/ 03:51 pm (CNA).- Megan Ternus, a teenager leading a huge effort to provide handmade clothes to less fortunate children in Haiti, knows what it’s like to walk in their shoes.<\/p>\n

\t“I’m adopted from the Ukraine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nTeen's pillowcase project inspires many to action<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vinton, Iowa, Aug 12, 2012 \/ 03:51 pm (CNA).- Megan Ternus, a teenager leading a huge effort to provide handmade clothes to less fortunate children in Haiti, knows what it’s like to walk in their shoes. “I’m adopted from the Ukraine...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/08\/teens-pillowcase-project-inspires-many-to-action\/\" \/>\n<meta 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