Potterne Springs WI had a fantastic turnout of volunteers to make dresses for young girls living in poverty.

They held a sewing evening on December 9 for the charity Dress a Girl Around the World.

A total of 30 dresses were made in the two-hour session.

Sue Groffman, one of the organisers, said: “It was an amazing effort and a great atmosphere with everyone working together for this goal of the night.

“We had a fantastic turnout spilling into three rooms at the venue with people from Pewsey, Warminster and Calne, as well as locals from Devizes and the village itself ranging in age from nine weeks to nearly 90.”

The charity aims to provide dresses for girls living in poverty who otherwise wouldn’t own one.

They believe that every girl deserves the dignity of owning at least one dress.

The dresses, which are often made out of pillowcases, can change a young girl’s destiny.

The charity says village pastors say a girl wearing a new dress presents an appearance that she is well cared for and may discourage would-be predators.

Dresses have been distributed to many different projects in Malawi, Kenya, Goa, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Cameroon, Haiti, India, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Phillipines.

Mrs Groffman said: “It is hard for us to imagine some girls not owning even one dress as we sit in our comfortable homes thinking about which dresses to choose from for our Christmas celebrations from many.

“It is a great feeling that in this one evening already we have changed some lives for the better.

“The cut-off date for collection of the dresses is January 13, and we are planning to continue sewing away over the Christmas holidays to increase our total target.

“A number of people who were unable to make it on the evening have been in touch and had instructions sent on to them and we would be delighted to hear from anyone else who would like to get involved this way too. It would be a dream to get to, say, 100 by then.”

If you would like to get involved in sewing some simple dresses for this cause and receive the pattern and instructions, get in touch with Sue Groffman on 07837 110874 or via email at sue.groffman@ fruitful-ideas.com