By Dennis McNabb, The Mountain Times
Christina Moroney, Theater and Sewing teacher at Sandy High School is a woman driven by passion and compassion. Having been raised in a low-income household and environment, she is highly sensitive to the plight of those facing similar challenges. For her, becoming an educator was a call to arms, an opportunity to give back to the community while helping young people comprehend and navigate some of the same hurdles she has struggled with herself.
Hired in 2021 to teach Theater at Sandy High School, she quickly identified that they had both a surplus of fabric (leftover from previous Theater costumes) and a lack of a sewing program. In accordance with her personal objective of helping kids learn fundamental skills, she approached the administration with the idea of adding a sewing class to the curriculum. Not only was the class approved, but Christina herself was afforded control of the curriculum and now teaches the class.
“It was a little bit of a surprise,” she stated, “But the kids really took to the program.” Its popularity has grown exponentially since its inception, and now she is teaching 3 sewing classes per semester! This year, she added a new project to the curriculum which has garnered quite a positive response. Combining her love of teaching with her love of animals, the sewing classes stitched together cat toys and donated them to the Portland Animal Welfare team (PAW)!
“This was such a fantastic opportunity for the kids,” Christina said. “Not only did they learn an important skill, they discovered how to stick to a pattern, properly follow instructions, and work ultimately towards giving to a worthy cause.” The toys were fish-shaped, made from whatever fabrics the students chose, and stuffed with crinkle material that cats go crazy over! At the end of last week, on behalf of Sandy High School, Christina proudly delivered over 70 brand-new cat toys to the incredibly grateful PAW team.
This was a win-win for everyone involved and Christina plans to add at least one donation project to the curriculum for each semester moving forward, teaching important fundamental skills to kids of all income levels while simultaneously encouraging humility and a sense of community. Thank you, Christina Moroney, for all of your passion and dedication to our future generations, and thank you, members of the sewing class, for your generous donations to help so many homeless kitties!
If you are interested in learning more about the Portland Animal Welfare Team, check out their website: https://www.pawteam.org/