Downtown Overland Park is excited to continue our partnership with Stitching Change, a grassroots project that provides opportunities for social enterprise for refugee women from Bhutan, Nepal and Burma, to provide a line of one-of-a-kind, handmade #DowntownOP market bags.

“Stitching Change offers free sewing classes to women, primarily those who have refugee status and are still learning English. The goal is to help them support themselves by making handmade crafts and clothing,” says Stitching Change founder Rakmi Shaiza. “I have great hope that we can blend our women’s traditional skills with new skills (home-based business creation and financial management) so they can be a part of our community workforce.”

The one-of-a-kind products are created from re-purposed and donated materials that have been fashioned into double-sided, reversible shopping bags. Utilizing re-purposed textiles directly supports Downtown Overland Park’s efforts to reduce landfill waste and encourage sustainable practices throughout the district.

This project is the result of a collaboration between the Downtown Overland Park Partnership, Harper’s Fabric & Quilt Co., InterUrban ArtHouse, Minty Fresh Press, Poet Jen Harris, Sitzen Upholstery & Design, Stitching Change, Ten Thousand Villages Overland Park and Unique Finds Gifts. Additional support for Stitching Change is provided by Grandview Park Presbyterian Church, Prairie Baptist in Prairie Village and many dedicated volunteers.

The bags are available at the following locations for $16.00 each - the first 125 bags sold will come with a coupon for a FREE 2-topping slice of pizza from Papa Keno's!

• Culinary Center of Kansas City | 7920 Santa Fe Drive | kcculinary.com
• Downtown Overland Park Partnership | 7315 West 79th Street | downtownop.org
• The General Store & Co. | 7922 Santa Fe Drive | generalstorekc.com
• Hair Lovin' | 7325 West 80th Street | hairlovin.com
• Harper's Fabric & Quilt Co. | 7918 Santa Fe Drive | harpersfabricandquilt.com
• Ten Thousand Villages Overland Park | 7947 Santa Fe Drive | tenthousandvillages.com
• The Tasteful Olive | 7945 Santa Fe Drive | thetastefulolive.com
• Unique Finds Gifts | 7140 West 80th Street | uniquefindsgifts.com 
• The Upper Crust | 7943 Santa Fe Drive | uppercrustpiebakery.com