BREAKFREE

is a grassroots organization that teaches sewing, design and youth entrepreneurship to high school students at various sites around Philadelphia. This year, HOPE Charter is hosting BREAKFREE during regular school hours. Participants in the program master basic sewing skills and create fabulous one-of-a-kind handbags and “reconstructed” clothing using old jeans and other recycled pieces. Youth designers then market their wares to friends, family and around the community.

• We welcome donations of all kinds:
  - Used sewing machines (working or not, we can repair them)
  - Fabric (scraps and yardage)
  - Lace, trim, vintage clothing to ‘re-do’
• We also welcome opportunities to sell— at special events at churches, schools and rec centers, or on consignment at beauty salons and boutiques.
• Boldly inventive, urban youth are the trendsetters behind the scenes of the fashion industry, with few opportunities to develop their talent. BREAKFREE follows students’ creative leads, building confidence, skills, and a new attitude toward work and learning.
• Youth entrepreneurship imparts a mindset of saving and reinvestment, the cornerstones of financial literacy.
• We are making money, earning respect, and sending a positive message—"Yes, kids can run their own business!”
• To learn more about BREAKFREE Youth Design Group, please visit our website, at www.breakfreeyouth.org
  
  

  * BREAKFREE is a member of the New Beginnings Non-profit Incubator Program at Resources for Human Development, Inc. (RHD), a registered 501 (c) (3) organization.