- April 25, 2024
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Penny Bennett sews a variety of items and donates the proceeds to the Flagler County Women's Club. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Penny Bennett holds up a pet blanket she made. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Penny Bennett wears a loopy scarf and stands in front of a wreath she made from spools of thread. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Memory bears sit on a shelf ready to be delivered. Courtesy photo
Penny Bennett makes purses from recycled jeans. Courtesy photo
A purse by Penny Bennett made from recycled jeans. Courtesy photo
Some of Penny Bennett's St. Patrick's Day masks and scarves that were sold at Chez Jacqueline with proceeds going to the Flagler County Women's Club. File photo
Penny Bennett and her husband, Jim, moved to Florida about 20 years ago to retire. Now, Penny is working harder than ever.
She can be found toiling at her sewing machine in her sewing room, "12 hours a day, seven days a week," Jim says with maybe a slight exaggeration.
Bennett owned a dress making business in Seattle for 34 years. She specialized in custom-made wedding dresses. Now, she makes custom masks, pet blankets, loopy scarves (her own invention), memory bears and purses made from recycled jeans. All for good causes.
"Penny is a remarkable person, and so generous with her time. She personifies the volunteer spirit that we value so much in our community. A very skilled crafter, I particularly liked wearing some of the unique masks she created during COVID, whether a spiderweb for halloween or one decorated with Christmas ornaments. Even more so, knowing she donates the proceeds to local causes."
RICHARD HAMILTON
Bennett's earnings go to the Flagler Women's Club, of which she's been a member since 2002, when she and Jim moved here. The women's club, in turn, puts all the proceeds back into the community through local charities and scholarships.
"I think that's important, keeping it all in the community," she said.
She sewed about 900 unique and stylish masks for local boutique Chez Jacqueline earlier in the pandemic, with the profits going to the women's club during a time when non-profits were unable to hold fund-raising events.
Bennett spends as little as possible on supplies to optimize the money raised for non-profits. Her loopy scarves are made from scrap yarns and ribbons. She buys jeans from a local thrift store to produce her purses.
She also makes memory bears, providing deceased loved ones with teddy bears made from a favorite article of clothing or blanket. The idea began when Bennett volunteered for a hospice and made head coverings for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
People put in requests for her memory bears through Parkview Church in Palm Coast. Others come to her through word of mouth. Bennett says she doesn't know how many memory bears she has sewn, but she has pictures of over 165. She sewed them all for free.
"It's very emotional," she said. "I stay in the background for this."
Bennett started sewing when she was 5 years old, making clothes for her dolls. At 10, she sewed her own clothes.
"It's a gift I have," she said. "I plan on doing it until I no longer can."
She said she couldn't do it all without Jim's support.
"My poor husband. There's thread all over the place," she said.
"The thread isn't bad," Jim countered. "But if you step on pins, that gets your attention."
When Bennett is not sewing she is overseeing landscaping projects at The Sanctuary at Palm Coast, where she and Jim live. She laid out every palm tree and plant and handled contracts for storm drains and lighting, Jim said.
"Penny is a remarkable person, and so generous with her time," said Richard Hamilton, who nominated Bennett for a Standing O. "She personifies the volunteer spirit that we value so much in our community."
"There is such a need out there," Bennett said. "Everybody should volunteer with something, sometime."
