Local business contributes to Little Dresses for Africa

In Africa little girls are often left with the responsibility of raising younger siblings and caring for a home after parents have died from illness or disease. Little Dresses for Africa, a non-profit organization, looks to build confidence and instill hope in these young girls by providing homemade dresses to these young ladies.

Betsy Humiston, a local volunteer for Little Dresses for Africa, became involved with the organization approximately five years ago after facing some difficult personal health issues. She wanted to pay forward the generosity she experienced during her tough time and set a goal for herself to send 1,752 dresses to girls in Africa. To date, she has made over 800 beautiful garments.

Humiston relies heavily on donations to pay for the materials she uses to make the dresses, and local businessman David LaManna stepped up to support her efforts.  LaManna is the owner of Empire Insurance Network in Thomaston, and he provided the financial support for the materials Betsy needed to continue making the dresses and move closer to accomplishing her goal.  Humiston stated that without the generosity of Mr. LaManna, and others like him, it would be difficult for her to continue her charitable work.