Walkabout: Coming Together in Brooklyn
Disasters large and small, natural or man made, have a way of bringing out the best as well as the worst of humanity. We saw it on 9/11, when first responders rushed into buildings on the verge of collapse, and when people of good will came from all over the world to help in the…
Disasters large and small, natural or man made, have a way of bringing out the best as well as the worst of humanity. We saw it on 9/11, when first responders rushed into buildings on the verge of collapse, and when people of good will came from all over the world to help in the recovery.
We saw it after Hurricane Katrina, for the tsunami victims of Indonesia, and now, the world’s care in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti. We have a very large Haitian community here in Brooklyn, so the pain felt at seeing one’s country collapse into rubble is felt deeply and personally from Crown Heights into Flatbush and beyond.
There are many worthy local organizations collecting money, clothing, food and other goods to send to Haiti. I’d like to take a minute to introduce you to one of them, because this Brooklyn organization’s mission has always been to help those in need.
If you wander into a small shop called Sue Rock Originals, at 1069 Bergen St, between Nostrand and Rogers, in Crown Heights North, you will probably be met by that force of nature herself, Sue Rock. She and her husband, Jerome, started their business as a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity to aid women escaping domestic violence.
Sue, who used to be a legal secretary, lost a good friend to domestic violence several years ago, and it changed her. Sue wanted to have a business that could provide women starting new lives with clothing items, accessories, and home furnishing items that could brighten their new surroundings, as they often escaped with only the clothes on their backs.
Her shop accepts donations of fabrics, trimmings, yarns and other craft goods. Her crew of volunteers turn those donations into usable items that are either sold in the shop, or donated to various programs such as the Brooklyn DA’s Safe Horizons Program. Each day, a dedicated stream of volunteers from within Crown Heights and elsewhere, sit at the large tables and make belts, crochet hats, sew garments and pillow covers and curtains, or help Sue organize the growing library of crafts books, patterns, and materials.
Husband Jerome, a former sous-chef, is now chief patternmaker, tailor and cutter. Anyone can come in and get a lesson on how to sew, or crochet or do something for the cause. Sue is a bustling whirlwind of energy, always including everyone, while working hard to organize everyone, keep track of everything and do the nitty-gritty of running the organization.
The shop is a storefront in a small apartment building bought by Sue’s late father, for a dollar, back in the 1970’s, as part of the city’s program to rid itself of properties in low income neighborhoods. For many years, the storefront was home to an after-hours club, which explains a disco ball that still hangs from the ceiling. Sue’s father worked on the building for the next 30 years, and left it to her when he passed away just last year.
The week of the funeral, the night club owners abandoned the space in the middle of the night, leaving Sue, Jerome and their two kids with the space necessary to expand their business and offer more help to others. Helping the people of Haiti took no time for Sue to organize. Immediately, she rallied her volunteers and the public by having a sewing day for Haiti this last weekend.
The announcement hit local and crafts blogs, flyers were distributed, and an announcement went into Facebook. On Sunday, people could be seen walking towards Bergen Street with portable sewing machines, eager to help. We saw men and women from all over, in the shop, young, old, black, white, Asian and Latino, hip and not so hip. If you couldn’t sew, Sue and Jerome had people sorting fabric and trim, or learning how to put a ribbon through a drawstring waistband, or packing boxes.
It was a wonderful sharing event, with people helping those they will never see or know. Sue will continue throughout February sewing and collecting clothing which will be sent to Haiti later in the spring. She is now seeking a proven and reputable venue for those items, so that they can go directly to those in need, not sit in a warehouse somewhere. She will be having another sewing and volunteer event this Saturday, so if you want to help a worthy cause, and meet some wonderful people, check the Sue Rock Original blogspot for details.
Due to my computer crashing, and the large amount of programs and backed up data I have to reinstall, I had no access to my photos or research materials for today. Everything should be back up soon. I wanted to do a piece relating to Haiti relief anyway, and I hope everyone will do whatever they can now, and in the coming months, to aid Haiti’s people. It only takes a little to help so much.
[Photos via suerock.blogspot.com]
Thank you all for the phenomenal feedback – I welcome any and everyone to come by and shop or see the wonderful work we are doing. As one of the few boutiques in the Nostrand Avenue area its a struggle, but we continue to connect with our community in entertaining and positive ways :)) The Sewing for Haiti event was phenomenal and brought out everyone from “Hilda” to “NaQuan”! – all who chipped in folding, sewing straps or working on sewing machines to create change.
We have identified an organization Life For the World (www.liveforteworld.org) which has been in Haiti for the past nine years running an orphanage in Matelas. They have a satellite here in Brooklyn (of course!) and the skirts are scheduled to go down in the next few weeks!-
Some Mother’s Day present huh?!
Always the best
Sue Rock
Executive Director
Sue Rock Originals Everyone
http://www.suerockoriginals.blogspot.com
downingByLaw- So sorry for your loss! Please know all our hearts are with you- even the obsessive commentators.
One thing i am hoping to do is convince FoodTown to let people use their greenpoints to send food or money to Haiti. Instead of using them for prizes and such. And i know they let people donate greenpoints to local schools for dollars so hopefully they will be able to do this as well.
Thank you for this post.
I am Haitian and have lost family members this past week and truly appreciate people like Sue Rock.
The walkabout is the only reason I come back to this site. I was a daily reader from the days before the what and the flea but I feel brownstoner has lost its connection especially since its been hijacked by a handful of obsessive commentators, but your columns are always refreshing, thanks again.
oh, i didn’t mean that people shouldn’t volunteer with sue rock, i just wanted to list some additional options (for those of us who are sewing-challenged, heh)
Sue Rock is a force of nature, truly. I’m glad she’s thinking in the long term and it also helps those who don’t have money to do something constructive that will help later on. A columnist wrote that after all the reporters leave, and we start to forget, that was when people should most remember that Haiti will be a disaster area for a long time to come.
Very true, CG. As it pertains to Sue Rock, she knows that clothing now won’t get through, and you are right, money and medical care are what they need first. She is holding the clothes they are making until she can place them with an accredited and reliable larger organization that will get them to those who need them, all happening later this year. The Haitian people will need help, food and clothing for a long time. This is not the most immediate way to help, but it is another viable alternative for helping people in Haiti. Her work with women and families who are starting new lives after leaving abusers is also a very important and viable good cause, and still goes on, along with the project for Haiti.
I think the bsvac is an excellent organization, as well.
Montrose;
Very nice write-up. People like this do God’s work.
i’m so glad to see this post! sue rock was part of the CHN house tour and is a lovely place. the people were wonderful and the work they do is amazing!!!
as for the dire situation in haiti, people are desperate to help but it seems like people are unsure of the best way to proceed. i just wanted to put out some thoughts (open to debate of course) relaying some good information i’ve heard and seen around. most importantly, money is more needed most. because of the airport situation and other issues, physical supplies cannot be adequately sorted or distributed. also, physical supplies are most effective in direct proportion to proximity. secondly, having a number of family members involved with NGOs, there is a huge difference between social/civil NGOs and disaster NGOs. please make sure that you donate to a reputable charity that has operations and infrastructure in haiti as well as disaster relief expertise. many people know about the red cross and partners in health, world vision is also an excellent established NGO in Haiti. if you want to do something locally, check out bsvac.org which is sending local medical staff to haiti from brooklyn’s very own bed-stuy.
This group sounds awesome. HOWEVER……experienced relief workers are advising NOT to send clothing and unsolicited goods to Haiti at this time. All the major relief agencies are requesting CASH, which goes much farther and doesn’t have huge mailing costs or logistical challenges of lugging and transporting once it arrives at the scene of the devastation. Perhaps the group could donate the clothing to some of the many Haitian refugees who will be arriving at different locations around the US, and will surely need a lot of help. MSNBC has a great article on this up right now.