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here is the latest edition of the

Chapter & Verse Newsletter

Inside this issue

• Verse of the Month

• Mapping the Chapters

• Sew Powerful Quilt Show News

• Chapter Leader Quarterly Zoom Meetings

• Resources for Chapter Leaders

• Register Your Chapter

• Sneak Peak into Chapter Happenings

• The Missing Link

Verse of the Month: Romans 12:13

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Sew Powerful Quilt Show News

I wanted to share with you the message Jason included in the most recent Sew Powerful Newsletter. I know some of you and your Chapter members had volunteered to work in the Sew Powerful booths and had planned to visit the shows to drop off your finished purses. I know our change of plans is disappointing news but we are working on some alternative strategies to reach out to new purse makers. Read Jason’s message below:

This week we came to a difficult decision and we wanted to share the news with you and ask for your prayer and help.

Out of an abundance of caution for the health of our booth volunteers, we officially withdrew from in-person participation in all the Quilt and Craft Shows on our calendar for 2021. We won't be attending the following shows:

• OSQE Dallas (Aug 19-21)

• NWQE Portland (Sept 23-25)

• Pinners Conference Indianapolis (Oct 8-9)

• International Quilt Festival Houston (Oct 28-31)

• Pinners Conference Salt Lake City (Nov 5-6)

• Pinners Conference Scottsdale (Nov 12-13)

• Mancuso Quilt &Sewing Fest of NJ (Nov 17-20)

• OSQE Nashville (Nov 18-20)

We know this is disappointing for our community, especially for Show Managers and others who have been working hard to prepare for their shows. We want to thank everyone that spent time and energy preparing for these events.

Our hope is that we can develop digital marketing campaigns and strategies to help us attract new purse makers this fall and we've already started working on that effort.

But the truth is, this decision will hurt our ability to reach our 2021 purse goal of 24,000 purses. We’ll need our entire community to pull together and rally with us.

How You Can Help: We'd love your support in the following ways:

1. Pray with us that God will add new volunteers to our midst.

2. Invite new people in your community to join us on our mission.

3. Make an extra purse or two if you can before our Fall Priority Deadline of November 1st. (If everyone on our newsletter list made just 1 purse - we'd crush our goal.)

We are incredibly grateful for everyone that has worked hard to help us this year by making purses, volunteering in various ways, giving financially and advocating for the program. Together we are Sew Powerful.

Honored to serve with you!

Jason & Cinnamon & The Entire Sew Powerful Team

Chapter Leaders Quarterly Meetings

Chapter Leaders Quarterly Zoom Meetings Scheduled

Both veteran and new Chapter Leaders are encouraged to join our Quarterly Zoom meetings. It will be a time of sharing and learning from each other. Bring your tips, questions and enthusiasm. The meetings are a fun, informal get-together with others who share your interest and desire to optimize the Chapter experience for yourselves and your members. Get the Zoom Link from the Chapter Leaders Resource Page, available for Registered Chapters.

The meetings will take place on the last Wednesday of the month, every 3 months, with an adjustment made for December 2021. The meetings should last about 1 hour and will start at 3:00 PM Pacific / 4:00 PM Mountain / 5:00 PM Central / 6:00 PM Easter (US Time Zones). Mark your calendars for the upcoming meeting dates:

• September 29, 2021

• January 26, 2022

• April 27, 2022

• July 27, 2022

• October 26, 2022

• January 25, 2022

• April 26, 2023

We look forward to seeing you on Zoom!

Resources for Chapter Leaders

Chapter Leaders will find a wealth of information on our Chapter Leaders Resource page. Besides the information and links in the Starter Kit, the Resource Page is updated frequently, so be sure to bookmark the page and check back often. Remember, this page is exclusively for Chapter Leaders so it is not available through our website menu. Below is a list of your exclusive content as of today’s publication date:

• Chapter Formation Stater Kit

• Chapter Leader’s Supplies Order Form

• Chapter Leader Feedback Form

• Packing Slip/Where to Ship

• We Are Sew Powerful book (PDF version)

• Tear-Off Flyer (featured in last month’s Chapter & Verse newsletter)

• Sample Call for Members

• Sew Powerful Contacts (NEW)

• Quarterly Chapter Leaders’ Meeting Schedule/Zoom Link

• Local Growth Survey Summary

• Chapter & Verse Newsletter (current and past issues)

• Purse Making FAQs

• Spring Summit 2021

Register Your Chapter

Chapter Registration: Chapter Leaders, be sure to register your Chapter so we can recognize your work on behalf of Sew Powerful. Plus, Jason and Cinnamon will be recognizing our registered Chapters at our Go-Live events on FaceBook and YouTube, the 4th Monday of every month. Chapter registration is quick and easy. Following registration, the Chapter Leader will receive a link to helpful resources designed to maximize the Chapter experience. To register your Chapter, Chapter Leaders CLICK HERE

Coming Soon: Sew Powerful purse makers interested in joining a Registered Chapter will be able to search by zip/postal code to find the Chapter nearest them. Another great reason to register your Chapter.

How to Find Chapter Members: Jason Miles, Sue Kirby and Jan Cancila recently recorded a lively 20 minute video all about how to market your chapter to find new members. Listen to the audio only version as a podcast HERE or watch the video below.

Sneak Peak into Chapter Happenings

The Chapter Leader Feedback form provides some great insights into Chapter happenings

Below are a few snippets of Chapter Happenings

Julie Winchell, Sew Sisters of NW WA, reports: Julie contacted the organizers of the annual Snohomish County Clothing & Textile Advisers' fabric, etc. sale to be held on August 28. They have given Julie permission to pass out Sew Powerful flyers to every customer. And they have agreed to keep some at the check-out stand too. Such innovative thinking. Especially now that in-person Quilt Shows are off the table for this year, reaching out in creative ways is even more important than ever.

Deborah Peterson, Lacey~Oly Crafty Sewers, reports: Deborah was interviewed by Jason Miles at the July Go-Live event. Julie attended the event, bringing purses her Chapter had completed. If like Deborah or Julie, you will be in the Renton area on the 4th Monday of the month, be sure to plan to be a part of this fun event.

Betty Johnson, Red Rock Sew Powerful Chapter, reports: The Red Rock Chapter’s first meeting was a Zoom introductory meeting. Since everyone lives in the same small town, Betty drove around kits and samples with some printed materials. She has since picked up finished products and am making follow up calls. Challenging times call for creative thinking. Way to go Betty!

And we received the following advice from Chapter Leaders:

• Keep meetings lighthearted and fun

• We meet, eat, visit and then sew at home

• Join the Sew Powerful Purse Project Facebook group. Share photos and Chapter Happenings there

• New members appreciated taking home a finished purse as a model so they could get started

The Missing Link

We just recently learned that some Chapter Leaders who requested the Chapter Leader Starter Kit did not get the reply email with the link. If this happened to you, we sincerely apologize. If you are missing that link please send a quick email to Jan Cancila (JanC@SewPowerful.org) to get your Starter Kit right away.