Change Purses that Change Lives

Support our #project21x21, our Immigrant Women Leadership program by donating $121. In exchange, you’ll receive this charming hand-painted change purse from mother-daughter duo Sophia & Mom.

The mother-daughter duo behind our #Project21x21 “Change Purses that Change Lives” campaign knows all about change and changing circumstances.

The first big change was leaving China to move to the States with her then husband and later to Canada in 2003. Then, Sophia came along in 2014—that was a welcomed life change. It hasn’t been easy being a single mom in a country where she has no family. But, Dorothy made connections when she enrolled in a sewing program at Newcomer Women’s Services.

“Before the program, I knew nothing about sewing,” she says, adding that now she works with her six-year-old daughter to create one-of-a-kind hand-painted purses using Sophia’s drawing.

Although the Toronto skyline appears on one bag they’ve contributed to the campaign; the young artist says she prefers to draw cats because of their “cute little faces.”  Sometimes, she draws right on the fabric; other times, a paper rendering is refined and then transferred to fabric. 

"I feel good to help them because Newcomer’s helped me. It’s an opportunity to return something to them. And Judy (Fantham, the Newcomer Women’s Services executive director) is a super-amazing woman. If it weren’t for this program, we’d just be stuck here; I could not find any job. Newcomer’s has given us a way to contribute.”

Dorothy Guo

And it’s not just Dorothy who benefited from the sewing program or who feels grateful to give back to #Project21x21. It’s also given her daughter an opportunity to feel proud of her art. “It’s important to give her something that makes her feel good, that she can achieve something,” says Dorothy.  “We are happy to have the opportunity to help; this helps her feel proud of herself.”

So how can you help? The first 50 people to donate $121 to our campaign will receive a Sophia & Mom change purse. The funds will be used to sponsor 21 women to attend our January 2021 Immigrant Women Leadership Program Sister2Sister. Our goal is $44,100 by December 31, 2020. We’re at $28,000+ now and would be grateful for your support.

To donate, go to https://give.charityvillage.com/project21x21

Meet Dorothy and her daughter, Sophia.