If you’ve ever doubted that a small group of volunteers can accomplish great things, well, we have the proof. In 2014, Suzanne Eisler called out for sewists in the farming community of Wawota. It started with her notice in the local paper, looking for volunteers. Two weeks later, the group Little Dresses gathered for the first time. “Twenty-one women showed up with their sewing machines, and that day, the first little dress was made,” she said. The momentum has been building ever since. The group has made about 15,000 dresses and 3,500 pairs of shorts for children in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Although Eisler passed away in December 2025, her legacy lives on through her community and around the world. Little Dresses continues to meet weekly at First Methodist Church, which donated space throughout the year for the volunteers to work and to store the completed garments. “We have seen photos of children smiling and posing in their new clothes,” Eisler said. “Sometimes these are the only new things they’ve owned.”

Little Dresses was forced to slow down during the pandemic, but found a way to continue giving back, making headbands, scrub caps and bags for local health-care workers. In recognition of her volunteer and fundraising work, Eisler received the 2023 Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal, presented at Government House in Regina.

The nomination caught her by surprise. “I certainly didn’t start this organization for an award. I just wanted to do my part. Little towns depend on volunteers,” she said. That community-building aspect of her work is just as important as the dresses themselves.

“People just show up, material and thread show up as well. It is just what we do.” Eisler is proof that good things happen when good people put their minds to it. “You have to do something in your life to help other people.”