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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - December 30, 2008
Lennis Ledbetter Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
December 30, 2008

Fayetteville, Arkansas Resident Wins Cash Award To Launch Program To Teach Girls Life Skills Through Sewing


(New York, NY, December 30, 2008) - Fayetteville, Arkansas resident Lennis Ledbetter, 72, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Lennis was named this week’s winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, a weekly $5,000 cash award program from Avon Products, Inc. to support individuals in their work to empower women. She is the second recipient of a Hello Tomorrow Fund award in Arkansas since the program launched in 2007, and was selected by an expanded panel of judges that now includes Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, and actress Phylicia Rashad. Lennis will use her award to launch Sew Right!, a program that will encourage creativity and build both skills and self-confidence in minority girls from low-income families in the Fayetteville area through sewing classes.

Recent reports suggest that between 1990 and 2000, immigration to Arkansas increased 14%, nearly tripling the rate from ten years prior. Many of these individuals come from Latin American countries, and in northwest Arkansas, there is a prominent population of immigrants from the Marshall Islands. Since so many of these immigrant families often have a difficult time meeting their financial obligations and often cannot find employment right away, items such as new clothing become non-necessities. With the current recession, the economic situation of many of these people will only worsen.

Lennis has been sewing since she was six years-old. She has spent many years teaching the craft of sewing to women and girls, and at one time was a garment construction teacher. Lennis believes that sewing builds self-confidence, as women are able to provide clothing, gifts, and other household items for themselves, friends and family. “I have seen the satisfaction and joy that sewing brings,” Lennis says. “The ability to express your creativity as you supply much needed items is priceless.” Every summer for the past several years, Lennis has volunteered as a sewing teacher to pre-teen girls from low-income, minority families. Through this work, she saw how the ability to produce clothing that these girls could wear had a very positive impact on their self-esteem. This was the inspiration for Sew Right! and now Lennis will have the funds to start this much-needed program.

With help from the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, Lennis will launch Sew Right! in March 2009, when she will offer sewing classes to a total of 40 minority girls, ages 10-13. Sew Right! will consist of four cycles, each with 10 participants, for a total of ten hours in class per cycle. She will use her award to purchase 10 sewing machines, sewing supplies, and fabric for use in the classes, as well as to support a fashion show at the end of each cycle. Sew Right! will provide an opportunity for pre-teen girls to gain the skills to sew clothing and other items, and as a result, save their families money. Perhaps more importantly, the experience will also boost self-confidence and provide the opportunity to socialize with other girls their own age in similar life circumstances. Lennis hopes to continue Sew Right! for another beyond the current cycle and share the art of sewing with other young girls in the community. As she says, “Sewing is an art that can last a lifetime, and can be shared or passed on from generation to generation.”

Lennis’ winning application to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund met the criteria of clearly presenting unique and achievable objectives to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society. It was selected from a pool of strong contenders by an expert panel of judges, including personal finance expert Suze Orman, actress Phylicia Rashad, Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, and experts in business and grantmaking. “A creative proposal to teach pre-teen girls from low-income families how to sew,” commented judge Anne Dowling on Lennis’ proposal. “Their work will give them a sense of personal fulfillment and will have the practical benefit of helping their families save money on clothes.”

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