Students sew pouches for animals affected by Australian bushfires

NEWRY, Pa. — A group of grade school students are stepping up to help animals devastated by some of the worst bushfires Australia has ever seen.

The Saint Patrick School in Newry is more than 10,000 miles from Australia, but students and teachers said their hearts are much closer.

After school hours and on their own time, a group is taking old T-shirts and giving them new life as a pouch for the baby koalas and kangaroos fighting for their lives after the bushfires.

“If they don’t have the warmth of their mothers belly, and then they’ve lost fur from the fires, they have lost a lot of what keeps them alive, so they need this warmth of something to help,” teacher Kathy Imler told WTAJ.

Patricia Troutwein, known as Grandma Patty to the kids, used to have her own dress shop. Troutwein has become the go-to seamstress for the project.

"They're always bringing stuff in saying 'Grandma can you fix this button, Grandma my hem ripped out, Grandma I need a patch on,' you know, so that's been a big part of my Grandma stuff," said Troutwein.

Now she's teaching her love for sewing to the kids working on the project, many of whom have never used a needle and thread. She said they're catching on quickly but there is a lot of work to do.

“I thought I’d work an hour with every kid and I’m working about 15 minutes,” said Troutwein. “When we said, ‘They use 30 a day.’ They were like, ‘What?’ So try and explain it’s like wearing diapers. You know a baby has to be changed and kept dry all the time.”

A little piece of central Pennsylvania is now being sent across the world from a school with a purpose.

“Pre-K through 8th grade they know the situation Australia is in and what the needs are and what we’re doing here,” said Imler.

The group will be working on the project for the next couple of weeks.

Their goal is to make as many pouches as possible.

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