Leah, Instructor of Our Heela Sewing Class

Hi, my name is Leah Westberry. I grew up in the state of Georgia and lived in Turkey for a few years as a visual artist and volunteer at a refugee center. I found myself here in Richmond in the winter of 2017. My degree is in Art Marketing, and I’ve loved all things textile from a young age, so I was excited to find out about the Heela Sewing Course. I started coordinating the class in March of 2018. Although Heela had started with the help of ReEstablish Richmond, at that time it was being run by another nonprofit in town.

Part passion for sewing and part desire to help refugee women become self-sufficient, I am driven by seeing women take ownership of a new skill, work towards thriving in employment opportunities and bring new avenues of creativity into their home lives.

As I write this, my past and current sewing students are volunteering their sewing talents to make fabric masks for the RVA health department during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the organization I was volunteering with closed its Richmond operations, I approached Kate, and we decided that it made perfect sense to move the program back to ReEstablish Richmond. The Heela Sewing Course fits so well into the mission and vision, and I am honored to have a program I have put so much of myself to join with such a great organization.

As I write this, my past and current sewing students are volunteering their sewing talents to make fabric masks for the RVA health department during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud of our students’ initiative and their readiness to help the community in this practical way. These women make our entire community stronger and enrich the lives of the volunteers who teach them sewing skills. Working with the Heela Sewing Course has been the unexpected joy of my life here in Richmond.