Mend to Extend - A PDX Arts Building Communities Grant Program

Since launching our Mend to Extend program from scratch this spring, the results have been nothing short of inspiring! Thanks to generous funding from the Oregon Arts Commission's Arts Build Communities grant and matching support from Starseed Foundation, we've been bringing hands-on sustainability education directly to our community—and it couldn't be more timely. Each year, people in the US discard more than 34 billion pounds of used textiles, a staggering reminder that fast fashion is a collective problem requiring collective solutions.

What exactly is Mend to Extend?

This year-long initiative brings the art and practice of mending and creative reuse directly to middle and high school students at Title I chools across Portland. Knowledge and skill building is SCRAP's approach to tackling textile waste—empowering young people with practical abilities that foster creativity, environmental awareness, and self-sufficiency.

Nearly 200 participants have joined our workshops, events, and programs, scholarship support means that Title I families can access these mending skill-builders without financial barriers. Students receive hands-on training in textile repair techniques, take home mending kits, and learn about creative reuse and how it can be a powerful form of self-expression.

But here's what really excites us: the beautiful community connections forming as participants discover sustainable skills together. We've watched students light up as they transform a stained shirt into a statement piece, or repair a beloved jacket that seemed destined for a landfill.

Mend to Extend has grown beyond our Portland roots too—we're now offering similar mending workshops at SCRAP RVA! We've even created our own mending zine, authored by Rabbit and Maya (with Maya's fantastic illustrations!), which will be distributed through our programs and included in the 200 mending kits that Kate has been assembling for participants.

This fall, we're thrilled to partner with TextileX to host their opening event alongside a community mending workshop, connecting with Portland's vibrant textile community that champions grassroots collaboration and accessibility.

As we enter the program's final three months, there's still so much ahead—getting those carefully crafted kits into the community, partnering with schools, libraries, and community centers, sharing our knowledge widely, and building lasting connections that will continue long after the grant period ends.

Pictures from Mend to Extend Program in the SCRAP PDX Studio!