By Aaron Allen
The Seattle Medium
11-year-old Averionna Wade may not have millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has already mastered the art of philanthropy. Wade, an aspiring fashion designer – who hails from a family of seamstresses, has been producing and selling face masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic and donating her proceeds back into the community.
“My great grandmother, grandmother and mother are all seamstresses,” says Wade, founder of Youth Skills by Averionna. “Even my brother sews, so sewing is in my family and I wanted to help change the world.”
Wade first came up with idea of producing face masks on her own by watching and helping her mother and grandmother produce them for hospitals and the community as she quickly jumped on the bandwagon and got to work.
According to her mother, Chavela Johnson, Wade has donated money from her creations, in $50 – $100 increments, to different organization, restaurants, and friends and families that have been making a difference in the community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Basically, we have just been giving to people that we know that have been giving back to the community,” says Johnson. “We’ve given to restaurants, political campaigns and food banks like Soulful Dishes and Jermaine Miller and his efforts in feeding the community.”
A graduating fifth grader at Maple Elementary School, Wade, just as any other child, enjoys most things kids love to do but creating jewelry and fashion designs are her passion.
Like most kids, because of the virus and school closures, Wade is missing school and her friends, and with graduation approaching she was feeling sad but optimistic about her future.
“I’m just finishing fifth grade and it feels good,” says Wade. “But I want to be at my graduation and see my friends.”
A participant in Faye Woo’s sewing class located in Renton and the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Youth Entrepreneur Program, both of which were cancelled due to COVID-19, Wade was preparing to launch her own fashion design brand ‘Youth Skills By Averionna’. However, COVID-19 interrupted those plans and Wade, who had planned on marketing and branding her products through her website and social media, began making masks with her sewing instructor for first responders.
“Basically, Averionna was to begin sewing lessons and an entrepreneur program but because of COVID-19 everything came to a halt,” says Johnson. “Because of the virus her sewing teacher contacted her to do a 100 face masks sewing kit, but they didn’t last long so Averionna started designing her own face masks and donating them.”
Because of the coronavirus, Wade’s heroinism has given her the strength to make the decision to get involved, and not to stand on the sideline. Her humility made her selfless so she could do all that she can to help her community during this crisis.
“To help launch her plan to give back we went to the Credit Union and opened up a youth account,” says Johnson. “We put money in there, she started receiving money and we started donating anywhere from 50 to 100 dollars [to various people and organization].”
Wade has used her creativity to cultivate her own style, while there may be others who are currently making face masks, Wade’s creations are versatile enough to compliment anyone who wears them, regardless of their preference in fashion.
“I got my inspirations from the textured fabrics and colors of the fabric and my great grandmother sewed, my grandmother and mother sewed and I watched and helped them,” says Wade. “Now I do my own work, I have my own style, I do my own drawings, I just love being a designer.”
Wade says that she produces about 20 to 30 masks a day, and her logistics cover the Puget Sound from Seattle to Tacoma and beyond if needed. At this moment, the demand has Wade filling orders for some of her most popular prints like Seahawks, Supersonics and African fabrics. Things have slowed down bit from the time she first started but she is actively working on building her inventory for future demand.
“We are expecting things to pick up as the fabric store just closed as of Monday,” says Johnson. “So, fabric is now going to [be hard for others] to get in the popular prints that she already has on hand,” says Johnson.
According to Soulful Dishes’ Jermaine Miller, Wade’s commitment and generosity has been a blessing not only to him but to others in the community. With face masks and resources running scarce, she has continued to do what she can to make sure that people have the resources that they need to fulfill a need and to serve others.
“The young lady not only gave us free masks that were all well-made and pleasing to the eye, she also gave a cash donation to assist us in the fight to feed the public,” says Miller. “Her and her mother have supported us professionally and from a community perspective. She literally lights up the room when she shows up.”
There is no doubt that Wade is one of those special people with a bright future. She cares for the well-being of others and it shows in her efforts and her work. Given a platform, Wade provides us with an example of how capable and giving even eleven-year-olds can be.
“If I could tell the world something it would be that even 11-years-olds can make something that can change the world or make a difference in the world,” says Wade.
