Newly-founded club Thread Heads has partnered with Youth Against Complacency and Homelessness Today (YACHT) to provide knitted and crocheted hats and gloves for the homeless in the Philadelphia area.
Beginning in spring 2016, senior entrepreneurial studies major Somer Jordan founded the club coined Thread Heads to express her passion for crocheting. Jordan started crocheting when she was in grade school during her time in Girl Scouts. After that, Jordan found a love for the more intricate fabric meshing: crochet. Jordan saw a way to combine service with her love for crocheting when she volunteered at the Salvation Army’s Booth Manor, a center for independent senior citizens. Jordan enjoyed the fact that her work was bringing therapy to the guests. However, Jordan still longed to help the homeless youth in the area.
Having experienced youth homelessness herself, Jordan proposed to develop a sort of fellowship through her God-given gift of creating handmade clothing with inspiration from the less fortunate of the Philadelphia area. Jordan does not have to buy a single product to make the hats for the homeless of Philadelphia. Every product that is used to make the hats is donated.
Before the creation of Thread Heads, Jordan took some of her crocheted products to a “Shark Tank” competition sponsored by ENACTUS, Eastern’s business and entrepreneurship club. Coming in second place, Jordan received the recognition she needed to sponsor the service club that became Thread Heads. Her first donation came in the form of 40 skeins of yarn; this is particularly beautiful as 40 has been an important number for Jordan through her struggles with faith.
“With 40 [rolls of] yarn], I knew it was confirmation that God was dealing with me. I saw that He was giving me the tools I needed to further help the youth of Philadelphia. I thought that this number was interesting because around that time my pastor had just preached about God having us in a place of crushing…just like Jesus, when He was in the garden of Gethsemane. When I looked up the biblical representation of the number, it stood for a generation and a time of testing. That was enough encouragement that God was fighting for me, leading up to one of the toughest times of 2016,” Jordan says.
Partnering with YACHT, Jordan saw how her new club would be doing good for the community. Her first experience with YACHT came as she hastily boarded the bus from Eastern to inner-city Philadelphia, where YACHT took its last trip for spring 2016.
“I experienced homelessness in high school….Youth homelessness is practically invisible….I still went to school and street-performed to make wages, while selling some of my products to my peers in high school. I was technically homeless but never went a day without having a roof over my head, food on the table, clothes on my back and a place to sleep and wash. In fact, by senior year of high school, my social workers came together to ensure that I had my very own apartment. Look at God! People look down on the homeless. They say that they are dirty and lazy, but that’s not the case for everybody….Being homeless was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me,” Jordan says.
Jordan’s work with YACHT combines her passion for crocheting with her awareness of youth homelessness. Jordan hopes to create 40 hats for the homeless and eventually make Thread Heads a part of her long-term business with a mission to mentor inner-city homeless youth.
Jordan says, “Thread Heads has a purpose. This club has allowed me to leave my mark here at Eastern as I get ready to graduate in May 2017.”
Source: Somer Jordan
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