Presbyterian Blume Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic

Take a look at these cuties wearing Stitches of Hope caps!

Hello! Are you enjoying the spring weather? Mom and I visited Foster Park in Ft Wayne during a warm day and saw hundreds of tulips in every color. It was a feast for the eyes!

If you have not already done so, please look for these precious posies before they’re gone and be thankful to God to celebrate fresh air, beauty in nature and the ability to see and smell these items.

Every day is a blessing. Some days are easier to call a blessing than others, I admit that’s true, but just continue to count your blessings and they will continue to fall around you.

I want to share a thank you note we’ve received lately from Katy Field, Certified Child Life Specialist, Presbyterian Blume Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic, Charlotte, NC.

Stitches of Hope has sent dozens of caps to this facility.

Katy said: “I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful and beautiful caps you are sending to our kids. We recently received two shipments of hats from you all. They are a huge hit. We should be good on hats for a little while from these last two shipments. Thank so much for all that you do, and for sharing with our children and young adults!”

The Blume Clinic is an outpatient facility and part of Presbyterian Hemby Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC. They have usually 50 oncology patients at a time and see hundreds of hematology patients ranging in age from birth to 22, though they may have patients in their mid- to late 20s if diagnosed with a pediatric cancer.

The Presbyterian Hemby Children’s Hospital includes a 42-bed pediatric unit, 8-bed pediatric ICU, 14-bed pediatric emergency department, 6-bed pediatric observation unit, and 65-bed NICU.

Katy also emailed me photos of the clinic, which I’ve pasted at our website. Please take a look at what this marvelous staff is doing for children. I plan to paste other thank you notes at the website as well so keep an eye on this site to see what our recipients think of our efforts! You’ll be blessed!

Volunteers of Stitches of Hope distribute each high quality cap or scarf at no charge to recipients, usually cancer patients, at medical facilities around the US.

We 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 do our best to notify members if there is a change.

The next Stitches of Hope meetings will be on the following dates: April 26; May 24; June 28.
Everyone is welcome to bring projects to the meetings to work on or come to learn how to make a cap or just help us tag them.

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

Thanks for all of your help! We couldn't do it without you!
Kayleen Reusser (260.824.8573)
Karen Story (260.824.8743)
stitchesofhope@gmail.com K4storys@gmail.com.

Notice of next Stitches of Hope meeting

I just took a nice long walk and enjoyed every minute! The sun was on my face and my body now feels invigorated. I hope everyone reading this is able to enjoy the spring weather, too.

We’re still rounding up sewers for turbans. The home ec teacher in the school system where I work suggested that some high school girls might be interested in helping create these. The school secretary put a note I sent to her about Stitches of Hope on the school’s website. Hopefully, it will generate some interest in sewing these simple projects. Maybe you know of a way to let others know about Stitches of Hope. Be sure to direct them to this blog so they can learn all about us.

We’re still collecting crocheted and knitted caps, but at this time please use lighter weight yarn and lighter colors to depict warm, summer weather. Here are a few samples of caps we’ve received.

Our next meeting is coming up on April 26. We meet monthly at 6:00pm at the First Methodist Church in Bluffton on West Washington St. you can bring items to work on or come and learn how to knit/crochet. It’s a great time to chat and catch up on news with other people in the area. We hope to see you there!

Take care,

Recently Stitches of Hope received a nice note from the daughter of a recipient of our caps. She has given me permission to post it here:

Hello,
I wanted to express how grateful I am for the caps that are provided to the cancer patients. My mom battled cancer for over a year and loved to pick up a new cap when they were available. She had a wig to wear that really looked like her real hair. However, she would much rather have had a knitted cap on. She wore one everywhere she went.

Unfortunately, she passed away in February. When she was in the hospital, she would ask me every time I came to visit her to swing by the cancer center at St. Elizabeth in Edgewood, KY, to see if there were any new caps there.

I know she and my family were very appreciative of your organization.

Everyone involved should know how grateful the patients and the families are for what they are doing. When someone is going through so terrible a thing in their life, it is the little things that make them smile.

Once again thank you and everyone else very much for taking the time out of your lives to help others.

Thanks,
Jennifer
**

This is a new cancer facility that we just began sending caps to in the last few months. It’s nice to know our caps are getting to the people who need them.

If you have any questions about Stitches of Hope, please send them to

StitchesofHope@gmail.com

Take care,