U R Special

Volunteer

U R Special has a five-member Board of Directors, who also serve as unpaid volunteers at U R Special work sessions. In addition, we utilize a network of volunteers, including over 200 seamstresses, to keep our costs down, our quality up, and our clothing unique and special.

Despite our phenomenal growth over the past 15 years, we have only one paid employee—a part-time director. Thus, the backbone of U R Special is its wonderful corps of volunteers. We rely heavily on donated fabric and sewing notions for our seamstresses, who lovingly hand-make the girls' dresses and nightgowns. We also call on volunteers in sewing circles and retirement homes to knit and crochet house shoes, ski caps, and mittens; other volunteers—often high school and university students—sort buttons and zippers, organize the workroom, provide transportation , and assist at the six distribution days each year. Still other volunteers work with local merchants to obtain deep discounts on items which have to be purchased, such as coats, underwear, jeans, shoes, and socks.

How You Can Help

• Can you sew?
• Can you design a girl's dress?
• Can you crochet or knit children's houseshoes, hats, or mittens?
• Can you spot a bargain or negotiate a bargain in children's clothing?
• Can you give a few hours of time per week at our workroom in Edmond? (The work ranges from designing an outfit to sorting through donated fabric and notions to ironing U R Special labels into garments to organizing patterns.)
• Can you volunteer at a distribution day, to help the children on their "shopping trip?"
• Can you write us a check to help purchase shoes, coats, underwear, jeans, and other garments that cannot handmade?
• Do you have a sewing guild or other organization that would like to make garments for us?
• Do you have a social, civic, or church group we could make a presentation to?
• Would you be willing to purchase or donate a new children's book (anything appropriate to ages 3 to 10) for us to include in the children's winter distribution?