Do you like to knit and/or crochet? (Are you some kind of magician who likes doing both?) Do you like showing other people how to do those things? Do you want to support and build connection with the African communities of the Twin Cities? Ooh do I have good news for you.
Under One Roof Fiber Arts provides free sewing/knitting/etc classes to African immigrants in the Twin Cities. All of our classes are volunteer-run, and we are always looking for more people who want to share their skills while hanging out with a bunch of cool women. You do not need to be an expert--we're really just trying to build community by sharing skills and making things together.
Okay but what does that actually mean?
- We're looking for both Teachers & Teacher's Aides. We aim to have 2-3 volunteers assigned to each class, so we need both people who are comfortable leading a class and people who'd rather assist and help answer student questions.
- Scheduling is as flexible as you need it to be. We've got ongoing classes as well as one-time classes, so you can help out every Weds morning or you can teach a class once a month. We appreciate whatever time you're willing to donate. We just want to make it easy for you to come in and share your knowledge.
- All of our students are African immigrants and most speak English as a second (or third or fourth) language. Some are new arrivals who are still learning the basics. It's okay if you don't have a ton of experience working with ESL students, but you do need to be open to working with people who are different from you and maybe learning new & better ways to communicate across language barriers. Unless you're also an African immigrant, then it probably won't be anything new (and you can totally both be a volunteer and also take a class if there's something that's a new skill for you).
- Really we're just trying to have fun and make things together, so if you've gotten this far, just send a message and let's figure out a way for you to get involved.
IMPORTANT! Right at this exact moment, we're only holding classes in St. Paul, but we're hoping to expand to satellite locations around the metro in 2026. So if you don't want to drive to St. Paul all the time but you do want to hang out and knit, send a message anyway and we can make some plans for the future.
