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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - We all have hobbies, the things we do in our free time to relax and unwind. Well, not all of us have hobbies that give back to others every single day.

A Charleston woman who is 92 years young uses her sewing machine to give back to communities around the world.

“I’ve been sewing since I was 12 or 13. I never had any lessons other than my mother,” said Doris Hudson. “I made my daughter’s wedding gowns, I made their school clothes. It’s the joy of my life.”

Since her four daughters no longer need school clothes, Hudson has been using her sewing skills for good.

Several years ago, she saw a Facebook post from a woman in her 90s sewing dresses for a shoebox ministry program through her church that sends dresses and toys to children in need.

“It just did something to my soul, it really did. She said, if I can do this, you ladies out there can do it also. So get out your sewing machines and start sewing,” Hudson said.

That’s exactly what Hudson did. Got the fabric, the patterns and started sewing.

“That year, I did 50. That didn’t satisfy me,” she said. “So I told my daughters we were going to get material, and my goal then was to do a hundred, now I’ve already gotten a hundred done this year in ages two to four.”

She’s been sewing dresses for children almost daily for nearly seven years. The shoeboxes with dresses, toys and school supplies go all over the world.

“Each shoebox has the plan of salvation in their native language,” Hudson said. “They advise us to put a stuffed animal or a baby doll, something they can cling to in every box.”

At 92-years-young, she is showing no signs of slowing down.

“There’s no stopping,” she said. “As long as my hands work, and my eyes work, I’ll be sewing.”

The thought of the kids keeps her going, and the thought of her husband, Paul. They were married 72 years, tying the knot six months after meeting.

“My husband passed away in ‘21. Up until then we worked side by side with the shoeboxes. This is something he had a passion for also,” Hudson said. “When I do it, I’m doing it in his memory. He loved it and it was something we shared.”

When she sews, she feels closer to Paul.

“It gives me joy, like nothing that I’ve ever experienced,” she said “I just love doing it.”

It’s clear to many what makes Doris Hudson a Hometown Hero. She’ll humbly disagree.

“There’s a lot of other people more deserving, but if this gets the word out so somebody else sees what I’m doing, that’s all the glory I want,” Hudson said.

The members at Doris’s church all get together to put the shoeboxes together, then they get sent to Charlotte. From there, they get shipped all over the world.