Happy New Year from Stitches of Hope!

Greetings!

We at Stitches of Hope pray you have had a blessed Christmas. Two of my grown children were home. We used the free online service of Skype to wish our third child a Merry Christmas from her home overseas.

The New Year is upon us and for some of us that always brings angst about resolutions the rest of the world seems to make and seems to expect us to make.

Have you thought about ways you’d like to improve your life in 2010? (That year is awkward to write!)

Perhaps you’ve resolved to help others in 2010, maybe for the first time or in a new way.

The 75 or so volunteers of Stitches of Hope have received many blessings from using our fingers and creative talents in making caps for people with medical needs.

I'm posting some pix of our members. The beautiful lady at the top is my mother, Joan Brewer. She has performed the awesome task of tagging nearly all of our 4,000 caps. In addition she has written thank you notes, picked up caps from friends, and made phone calls -- all of which lighten the administrative load of this organization. I love her to pieces!

The others are some members of our group at a recent meeting -- Cheryl, Pat, Tina, Marilyn, Marlene, Betty, Theresa, Delores. They and the rest of our volunteers are precious to me as volunteers but also as friends. I'll post more pix of other volunteers and our caps in future blogs.

The ministry of Stitches of Hope is unique in that it is affordable to the crafter, can be done by anyone at any age, and we make caps for men, women, and children. (I admit, a big plus for me is that I can crochet caps in front of the TV, thus validating the time I spend watching British mysteries!)

If this type of caring is something you’d like to know more about, please contact Kayleen Reusser or Karen Story. We’d love to have you join us!

Happy New Year!

Kayleen

Welcome to Stitches of Hope!

Hello! I hope you’ve had a great summer. The fall is upon us and we at Stitches of Hope are gearing up! We have a list of hospitals and medical facilities in Ft Wayne, Indiana, and around the nation that are looking for caps, scarves, blankets, and turbans for people with medical needs.

We distribute all of our high quality items at no charge to the recipient.

In just over a year (June 2008) we have done so much more than I had ever hoped or dreamed. Thanks to your wonderful generous spirits and talented fingers, we have distributed 2,500 caps! Thanks to the generosity of the Wells Community Health Services Foundation Auxiliary and other donors, we have sufficient financial funds to mail approximately 250 caps each month.

Several facilities have sent thank you’s, including Riley Children’s Hospital, Ft Wayne Medical Oncology, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Erickson Hair & Skin Care Center in Rochester MN wrote: “Thank you for the chemo caps. They are filled with loving care for our patients at Mayo Clinic. Patients do like nice gifts.”

We usually meet the 4th Monday night of each month from 6pm-8:00pm at the 1st United Methodist Church, 325 W. Washington St in Bluffton IN. We will do our best to notify members if there is a change.

The next Stitches of Hope meetings will be on the following dates:
Sept 28
October 26
November 23
December 21 (Christmas party)

Everyone is welcome to bring projects to work on and items to donate.

Donations can be dropped off or sent to Quilts n Gifts Shop
2035 Commerce Dr
Bluffton IN 46714
www.quiltsngifts.net

Stitches of Hope volunteers Kayleen Reusser and Karen Story are happy to answer questions about the organization.
stitchesofhope@gmail.com

K4storys@gmail.com

260.824.8743 or 260.824.8573

Thanks for all of your help! We couldn't do it without you!