News about our activism

‍The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent, Ohio does more than just sew and sell. We are a busy bunch of advocates for the oppressed, the hungry, the environment, and education!

Follow our accomplishments here and join us in the fight for human rights in whatever way works for you.

2025
The New York Times mentioned the Socially Responsible Sweatshop for the second time ion 2025 
By Cara Buckley and Catrin Einhorn, December 28, 202

I thought you might be interested in a project near me in Kent, Ohio. It’s called The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent. From their flier: “The Socially Responsible Sweatshop is committed to repurposing landfill-destined textiles into useful, beautiful items. These items are lovingly crafted and priced affordably. Proceeds from the sales of these items are donated to provide extra funds for food-insecure community members.”

They sell their wares at the Haymaker Farmers’ Market in Kent year round and online and a couple of local stores. I discovered this organization at the farmers’ market about a year and a half ago and ended up donating my late mother’s sewing machine to them. I have since donated fabric and other machines and sewing supplies when I can. Last year they raised $50,000, 100 percent of which went to the food-insecure of Portage County.

— Kyle A. Klever, Ohio

The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent is named in the New York Times story, Your communities, your solutions
‍By Cara Buckley and Catrin Einhorn, July 24, 2025

‍Then there was the Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent, Ohio, whose members craft tote bags, pillows and other goods out of textiles otherwise bound for the landfill, and then donate the proceeds to anti-hunger groups. Its official mission is to sustain the earth and the hungry. Its motto? “Never underestimate a person with a sewing machine.”

The Burton D. Morgan Foundation of Hudson, Ohio
‍generously gave us a $3,000 grant which we will use to replace market fixtures and to cover current costs of our website. This came as a surprise when we really needed some operating funds. ‍‍

WIC Perks 2025 Report:With the support of the Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent, Haymaker Farmers’ Market offered the “WIC Perks” food benefit program again in 2025.  The program operated at every Saturday market in Kent, for 51 weeks of the year from January through December.  This program offered coupons for fresh fruits and vegetables from Market vendors to customers who showed their WIC (Women, Infants, & Children) cards to the Market cashier.  The state run WIC program is a food assistance and health support program for low-income families with children under 5 years old or qualifying pregnant mothers.  In 2025, the federally funded WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program was further reduced to $15 per year.  Haymaker’s WIC Perks program is one of only two farmers market based “WIC Perks” programs in the state that provides an additional food benefit to families receiving WIC. Haymaker began the WIC Perks program in conjunction with our “Power of Produce” kids club, which teaches healthy eating at Market to kids 12 and under.  In addition to getting healthy, fresh food to people who need it, Haymaker’s WIC Perks program supports participating farmers and reinvests in a resilient, local food system. 

Haymaker’s 2025 WIC Perks Program was a success, thanks to the SRS support that makes it possible.  Anecdotally, the WIC Perks program has been successful in increasing Haymaker’s service to the local immigrant population, with a significant number of families receiving WIC Perks benefits presenting as non-native English speakers.  This may be due to a difference between WIC and other food benefit programs, as WIC does not require US citizenship as a qualifying condition.  Also, Kent State University attracts international students and graduate students with families may qualify, as is the case for several participating people who we have gotten to know personally.

Government funded food benefits were repeatedly cut in 2025, both at the federal and state levels. Food benefit use at Haymaker fell by 20% from 2024, while the need for food assistance remains high.  The eligibility requirements and the benefit levels were reduced for SNAP, Produce Perks, WIC FMNP, and TANF programs.  The state funding for Haymaker’s Produce Prescription programs ended and the federal funding for staffing our Power of Produce kids club was cancelled. During this difficult funding climate, local funding from partners like the Socially Responsible Sweatshop has never been more important. With your help we were able to continue WIC Perks at the 2024 level and continue to take care of the most vulnerable people in our community. You helped them to shop for healthy, fresh food with the dignity of choice, selecting the right foods for their family and letting them know that they are a welcomed and important part of our community.

Haymaker Farmers’ Market requests SRS funding to continue our WIC Perks program in 2026.  Based on this year, we anticipate a total program spend of $13,000 in direct program benefits, excluding any administration costs. We request funding to continue this important program without change from the current model.  Haymaker will cover all costs associated with program administration and requests funding exclusively for the direct food benefits used at the Market. 

 2025 WIC Perks Statistics:

‍Total Distribution (coupons given out): $13,650

Redemption rate:  90.3% redemption

Average total amount received $98.99 (annual)

Visits to Market 1,365 110 unique families (plus anonymous transactions)

Busiest Month – August 2025 - $2,060 Distributed, #206 visits to Market

Slowest Month – January 2025 - $420 Distributed, #42 visits to Market17 local farmers supported by the program

Customers came from 39 different zip codes

2024
People ask what it is like to volunteer for the Socially Responsible Sweatshop. Being the workshop manager I have had many opportunities to marvel at the collaboration, relationship building, and support that volunteers show to one and other.  People come to the workshop for a variety of reasons, but everyone volunteers to help raise money to assist local food insecurity support programs. Some volunteers live alone and don’t have family nearby, so contact with other like minded people is essential.  Others find that SRS checks many boxes that lead to volunteerism fulfillment.

Working together on a project with a group of people can be  energizing. I love to observe  people problem solving to assist others.  As relationships develop and serious friendships form, people help each other heal, grieve , grow, and evolve.

The workshop is open four days each week and as a group works at the market on Saturdays. There is a unique feeling for each day of the week at the workshop.

Our technician comes in most days.  When he arrives we breathe a sigh of relief because we know our machines will be in good running order and our cutting tools will be sharp.  The technician even makes house calls to check machines used by volunteers who sew at home.

Sunday is often a quiet work day.  The workshop is not as crowded.  We keep this day open for people who work during the week and who desire to come to the workshop to do their part. Our SRS baker delivers delicious baked goods for the volunteers to enjoy during the week.

We have very specific items that we work on depending on what is determined to be needed after the markets. Planning for the rest of the week occurs and of course there is always sorting, cleaning and the packing of things that we will take out of the workshop.  Sometimes people come in to pick up purchased items and they may stuff a meditation pillow or two while they stop by.

The Monday group is very large.  We often have people  working to rip apart jeans in one area.  Someone else may work cutting large patterns which is one of the most important tasks of the workshop.

Our designers match fabrics for projects and prepare  them for the master cutter.

Another group can be seen sewing or serging together.

Two volunteers take the denim jeans that come in and rip them apart with seam rippers. The denim gets cut into  messenger bag patterns by our master cutter who may use a cordless electric cutter while wearing chain mail protective gloves.  The pieces get embellished and artfully sewn together.   We cheer and proudly display the finished bags finished by the artisan sewists.

Someone else may organize fabric, notions, patterns or supplies so they are readily available for the volunteers.

Several people may work in the area large room cutting out small patterns together or matching fabric. We try to have a wagon of tasks and supplies for the group so they can choose what they want to work on.

We have knitters and crochet artists who work together to create new items.

Someone else may spend time in our storage closet organizing our market bags so they will be ready for Friday.

While the Monday volunteer group is at the workshop, others are working at home on creating projects for the cause.  When these volunteers visit the workshop they also collaborate with other volunteers on projects. Having other volunteers cut out kits for home sewists makes at home sewing go smoothly. Sometimes the home sewists may come in to find fabric, thread or other notions.  There is always someone ready to help locate what is needed.  We always get excited to see what yet another creative person finishes for the cause.

When our tag maker delivers her descriptive pieces we curiously listen to tag contents being read aloud especially if there is a new product described.

In addition to working at the workshop , there are people who  take work home to complete as well.  Workshop worker homework could be smaller tasks like  creating bags for the tokens that are given at the market or making towels or napkins out of beautiful absorbent fabrics.  Sometimes catnip mice need to be made. There is usually knitting done year round for the holiday and winter markets.   I just look forward to seeing what comes back to the workshop and to see the other volunteers checking out  and admiring the work returned.

On Tuesday, there is a regular group that usually comes in together.  Many things that need to be cut, located or sorted get completed.  There are three friends in the Tuesday group.  I can tell that they have known each other for years.  They work together with such precision and accuracy I marvel at what they accomplish.

There are two women who have a history of long distance running who work at machines sometimes on projects with a timeline or a special order.  Often, Tuesday is one day that complicated and difficult projects are figured out.

On Friday,  we are almost as busy as Monday because many volunteers return to work together. Friday is the day that the bags need to be taken out of the closet and packed into vehicles for the Saturday markets. We also get donations of fabrics etc. coming in on Fridays as well as other days.  All of the donations need to be checked, sorted for projects and some taken to where they will be used off site.   Someone is always willing to help

.After the workshop closes people may go on walks, practice yoga or tai chi together, or give someone a ride to a medical appointment, take food to a sick person’s home, or at times attend services for a fellow volunteer who lost a loved one.  We organize a remembrance walk at Trail Lake Park annually  for volunteers who have passed away.   We have a holiday get together annually and sometimes we have a volunteer appreciation day.

I believe that the relationships formed at the workshop are meaningful and precious.

The Socially Responsible Sweatshop provides so much more than a volunteer opportunity.  The workshop participation is good for our hearts and brains with many added benefits.

From The Haymaker Farmers' Market
Thank you again to the Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent for funding this great program and purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers to distribute to PMHA clients.  The total cost of food purchased from Haymaker vendors was $1,545.00 - with detail listed below.  Our vendors offered their products at less than Market prices, discounting the purchase because they also support the mission to provide fresh, healthy, delicious, local food to everyone in our community - but it is the funding from the Socially Responsible Sweatshop that makes it happen.  We are proud to support our local farmers who feed our community and to help facilitate this food distribution to people who need it.
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Please let me know if any additional information is needed or invoice sent.  Thank you again for supporting this program!
J. Andrew Rome (he/him)
Director, Haymaker Farmers' Market
330/577-3355 cell 


From Portage Metropolitan Housing Authority
Thank you both Haymaker Farmers’ Market and The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent for making our Farmers Markets possible.

This year we served 83 Public Housing Households totaling 226 residents (116 adults and 110 youth)! 

As always, we are so grateful for this partnership and hope to continue and grow it years to come. 

Along with this email we have sent out thank you cards to the farmers who gave us produce and to the sweatshop ( I looked back at last years emails and sent their thank you to Mary Ann’s address, if that has changed please let me know so I can make sure we send it to the right place)

Thanks again for all you do for the community!!

Siera ScottSocial Services Coordinator
Portage Metropolitan Housing Authority
Ravenna, Ohio 44266

‍Woman of the Year for Innovation Award The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent, our volunteers, our Board, and our customers and friends are all proud to congratulate our amazing leader, Mary Ann Kasper, for being awarded Woman of the Year for Innovation by the Women’s History Project of the Akron Area, led by the Summit County Historical Society. We would like to thank the Women’s History Project and the Summit County Historical Society of Akron for bestowing this honor upon Mary Ann, and thereby, upon all of our volunteers and supporters.
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‍Volunteers of the Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent attended the Celebrate Portage awards dinner tonight, and were awarded the Community Service Award!!! This award is not only for our founder and leader, Mary Ann Kasper, but also for our volunteers, our donors, and our customers! We all win when we work together for good!!

SRS participates in Kent State University Earth Fest, which celebrates local organizations that promote sustainability. Kent Wired Article by Kayla Gleason.

2022

I remember when COVID changed the way that we operated.  First of all, we had to stay home and isolate ourselves so we couldn’t gather together to work.  Instead we worked from home by joining Heidi Weisel’s and Andrew M. Snyder’s “People Protecting Each-Other Sustainably” mask making and distribution group. We helped to make 8,000 masks for frontline care and essential workers. People from all over the community joined in to help.  We ended up moving to Franklin Elementary School to sew masks for the school students and to have them available at the market for vendors and the community.  We had 5,000 square feet so we could distance ourselves and work together again.

Franklin Elementary was close to 100 years old and I wasn’t surprised when told that it was purchased by Davey Tree and we had to move.

At this point, we had already relocated nine times.  Our volunteers doubled and we had to find a workshop.  We were a big operation and needed to adapt to change.

We as a group had many needs. We needed a good location with parking, accessibility, and enough space for our machines, fabric and market storage.

Some members of Christ Episcopal Church spoke to their minister on our behalf. The location was ideal and the facilities were outstanding  Soon after that we were invited to move to the religious education classroom  area at Christ Episcopal to use for our workshop.  The community stepped in to help us move.  We even had a group of scouts working to get our workshop set up.

We deeply appreciate the generosity of the congregation of Christ Episcopal Church of Kent.  The Socially Responsible Sweatshop has almost tripled our donations since we moved to Christ Episcopal.  More food insecure people and the community are getting food.

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2021
‍Spectrum Visits SRSBy Kristen Anzuini Akron Published 4:15 pm ET Aug. 22, 2021
KENT, Ohio — When you think of a sweatshop, the words socially responsible don't normally come to mind. But that's exactly how Mary Ann Kasper would describe her organization. Kasper started the Socially Responsible Sweatshop in 2013. “We take landfill-destined textiles. We turn them into beautiful things like yoga mat bags and meditation pillows and other useful household things," Kasper said. They then sell the items that they make at the Haymaker Farmer's Market in Kent. "We give 100% of the money to food insecurity projects,” she said. "We don’t keep any of the money for operating expenses. If we need to pay off like an insurance bill, we raffle off a quilt.” Since its inception in 2013, the organization has grown significantly. “During the pandemic, our volunteer base doubled. We went from about 30 to about 60,” Kasper said. The Socially Responsible Sweatshop even has permanent offices set up in a church in Kent. "Any one of us could be the person with food insecurity,” she said. “Use your skills and give back. It’s important; you know, people still need you.

Socially Responsible Sweatshop: Where good prevails in an unsettled worldBy David E. Dix March 28, 2021, 6:00 a.m. ET 
Kasper with her first volunteers started operations in the basement of the Unitarian-Universalist Church on Gougler Avenue. As others joined in, the work spread out into the homes of volunteers. Lately, SRS, courtesy of Kent City Schools, occupies three rooms in Franklin Elementary School, one of them a former classroom where Kasper first taught. The dedication and idealistic fervor of Kasper and her team is a wonderful sight to behold. There is much to be said for helping those in need and in a manner that demonstrates responsible stewardship of Earth and its resources.
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2020
Message from our Founder, Mary Ann Kasper

This has been quite the year for the Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent. We donated $10,000 to Kent Social Services in January for a much-needed freezer.
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We joined People Protecting Each Other Sustainably to make masks for frontline workers in March. We cut and sewed away, while sheltering in place, creating over 8,000 masks through the spring.
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During the Spring and Summer we met at a local park to stay connected. We returned to the outdoor Haymaker Market in May and offered our much needed sewn masks, as well as other items to the community for sale.
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We moved into a new work space, and along with many new volunteers, we gave Kent Schools 3,255 and Ravenna schools roughly 500 cloth masks for the children.
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In November, we gave Kent Social Services an additional $5,000 for food for the holidays. KSS had been serving three times the number of people since the onset of COVID19 and desperately needed our help.
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SRS pulled together to offer an online holiday boutique that started in mid-November. Community Members supported our mission and were able to purchase our lovingly and locally made items for their holiday and personal needs. In about one month, we were able to make $6,000 which will be used to support a local food insecurity effort. In the meantime, we are all trying to figure out ways to be safe during the pandemic, while remaining connected to our organization and its mission.
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We will be working at home on projects that will benefit local social services organizations as well as planning and implementing new projects. 2020 had some challenges and losses for everyone. I am grateful that in 2020 I have been able to get to know so many wonderful people who were willing to jump in and do something to make a difference in our community during such trying times,
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I hope that all of you have a meaningful, safe and blessed holiday season. -Mary Ann Kasper

The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent donates to fight local food insecurityThe Portager, Nov 6, 2020
For those who are living anywhere near the poverty line, times are even more difficult right now. Life during Covid-19 is a difficult time. Rare and lucky is the person who would dispute this. Many are facing unemployment, lack of daycare, schooling from home, sickness and even the deaths of parents, children and friends. To help the families in our community make ends meet, the volunteers of The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent (SRS) create beautiful and functional products from repurposed materials to sell, and they donate 100 percent of the proceeds to local food insecurity programs. Through the sales of items since 2013, the SRS has been able to donate $10,000 to Kent Social Services (KSS) to purchase a new walk in cooler/freezer in February 2020. We have also donated over $18,000 to the Haymaker Farmers Market to increase the SNAP Produce Perks funds.

This November, the SRS will donate another $5,000 to KSS to purchase much-needed food to feed the community. This earmarked donation will be spent locally at the Akron-Canton Food Bank, where it will buy more in bulk than from other distributors, while also helping the food bank to continue its mission of supporting the tri-county area.

Other food insecurity programs are being researched to make additional donations because the need is great as we enter the winter season and continue to battle the pandemic. If you are able, please make a financial or food donation to your local food bank; and if you need help, don’t hesitate to visit them.

In 2020, SRS made a $10,000 donation to Kent Social Services to support their good work in the local community. See this letter of acknowledgement from Kent Social Services.
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Dear Friends, It is with deep gratitude that we express our thanks for your very generous donation to the Kents Social Services capital campaign. Your donation will be used to help with the installation of a new exterior freezer and cooler. This project will enable us to accept larger donations of perishable food and will also free up space in our kitchen area. ‍‍

The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent is mentioned in the Ohio Journal of Medicine ABSTRACT Background: Face mask shortages in healthcare and use recommendations and requirements in a variety of community and professional contexts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. created initial and ongoing demand for face masks. In March of 2020, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided guidelines for use of cotton masks for individuals in healthcare settings and in public. Community volunteers provide a potential workforce to rapidly and flexibly address critical needs in emergent circumstances.  Methods: People Protecting Each-other Sustainably (PPEs) was developed to recruit and manage over 100 Northeast Ohio volunteers. PPEs used the social media platform Facebook to facilitate material donations, volunteer recruitment and training, and to function as an ongoing central communications hub. Leaders used an assembly line process with zero-contact pick-up and drop-off at multiple stages of production to allow safe assembly and distribution of face masks. Results: 7,695 handmade face masks were created to distribute to local front-line responders in 10 weeks. Use of upsourced and donated materials allowed this project to reduce potential landfill waste, and made a zero-cost project possible. Volunteers had positive responses to the project and reported benefits from their participation. Conclusions: This model has been successfully recreated by a smaller group in Geauga County with similarly successful results. Clearly this model of community mobilization has the potential to be replicated in other state of emergency crises and emergency response situations to produce lifesaving or necessary equipment when industry standard equipment is not readily available.

SRS joins forces with Andrew Snyder and Heidi Weisel of People Protecting Each-Other Sustainably to create over 8,000 masks for frontline workers and at-risk patients during COVID-19 PPE shortage.In times of uncertainty and hardship, you can stand back and wait for it to pass or get involved. During the pandemic, people in the town of Kent and the Kent State community wanted to make a difference. Two Kent State students became the catalysts that sparked a 10-week project of doing good. When the university transitioned to fully remote instruction in March, Andrew Snyder, a doctoral graduate assistant in the College of Public Health, and Heidi Weisel, a clinical experience specialist for the College of Nursing, wanted to find a way to help. Five days after they went home, the pair started brainstorming ways they could support those who worked in public facilities. After a long day of experimenting and strenuous trial and error, Snyder and Weisel were able to create form-fitting sustainable masks made of 100% cotton sheets and t-shirts. While they were proud of their efforts and the progress made, after a few hours, they realized they had only made a few masks. “We thought to ourselves, ‘there has to be a better way to do this,’ so we teamed up with The Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent to increase production and efficiency,” Snyder said. Shortly after, the People Protecting Each-Other Sustainably Project was born. Passion and effort seemed to be the driving force of the project volunteers. “We all worked together to create something really great from the start,” Weisel said.

‍SRS accepts donations from KSU School of Fashion,leading to their nomination as a finalist for the 2020 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Campus Sustainability Achievement Award along with the 2019 Keep Ohio Beautiful award for Colleges and Universities.The School of Fashion also donates fabric scraps to local non-profit, the Socially Responsible Sweatshop, which repurposes landfill-destined textiles into useful items and proceeds from the sales of these items are donated to provide extra funds for food-insecure community members and other social justice projects.

2019
Socially Responsible Sweatshop volunteers help Kenyan girls to remain in school by supplying them and other women in their village supplies to manage their menstruation and develop independence through sewing. Four Singer 99 hand-crank sewing machines were carried to Kenya by Heidi Weisel to the village of Wangay in rural Kenya and donated to Bonyo’s Kenya Mission medical clinic. Through this relationship, the SRS donated multiple items for BKM fundraising auctions. Read more hereand here
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SRS shares philanthropic mission with League of Women VotersLots of ❤ for this All Member Monthly in February! Members of the Socially Responsible Sweatshop in Kent will talk about the group's grassroots philanthropy made possible by sewing machine, needle and thread. They will have some of their products at the meeting. The group sells their handmade items at the Haymaker Farmers’ Market on Saturdays, and all proceeds go directly to the market so those receiving SNAP benefits can buy $20 in produce every week. Among the items available are bolstered meditation pillows, pet toys and aromatherapy pouches made with herbs from the garden of Mary Ann Kasper, founder of the group.

LWVK members who participate in the Socially Responsible Sweatshop include Barb Hipsman Springer, Jane Preston Rose, Sherry Rose, Edie Grund and Anne Andrews.
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2017
‍aroundKent magazine publishes story by SRS member Barb Hipsman Springer, telling of the Socially Responsible Sweatshop in the March 2017 issue of AroundKent (pages 14-16). Barb did a great job in the article explaining what SRS does and its history and current status.
Collaborate with Kent State University's Women's Center and Fashion School to create sanitary products for girls and women in Africa and India.

SRS participates in 2017 Kent Creativity Festival to demonstrate making tarn from old clothing to encourage children to recycle and reuse.
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2016
The SRS of Kent, Ohio, was awarded the 2016 Green Enterprise Award by the Portage Park District Foundation, at the Portage County Environment Conservation Award Benefit Dinner.
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2013
This is the original sewing machine that started the sweatshop. Read how we started in the About section.