By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Ann Aloisio has turned her passion for sewing into volunteer work with rewards on both ends.

Aloisio volunteers her time in various capacities, but  she was recently presented  the Distinguished Service Award for her work with The Arc, a national organization dedicated to people with intellectual  and developmental disabilities. Aloisio, who lives at Brooksby, was awarded for her work each week in the  organization’s day care facility as well as for her efforts teaching sewing to adults served by The Arc.

Sew good
Aloisio has invited small groups of adults with disabilities to Brooksby, where she works with them to complete sewing projects over the course of four sessions. Most  recently Aloisio taught a group of women to make tote bags, an experience she relished.

“To see the smiles on  heir faces when they finish—it was very worthwhile,” she says. “When you volunteer you get so much more than you give,” she adds.

It was natural for longtime sewer Aloisio to call  upon those talents when she wanted to get involved in volunteer work. Aloisio had her own shop in  Barrington,  R.I., where she taught classes and sold sewing machines and fabrics, and she worked as a home economics teacher.

“I love to teach, and wanted to share it,” says  Aloisio, who found The Arc through Brooksby’s Volunteer Coordinator Tom Cook. “I just wanted to do something for other people.”

In addition to her coworkers at The Arc, Aloisio has impressed many in the  Brooksby community.

“It’s not every resident  who will take a group of physically and emotionally challenged young people and teach them how to sew,” says Mary Landry, community resources coordinator at Brooksby.