During this time of year when people’s generosity abounds with the spirit of giving, the Women of the Church Organization at the Lake Wateree Presbyterian Church have heeded the call. Harriet Brown, a church member of Windemere Road, learned of a need for blankets for the Richland Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. Brown challenged the church ladies to make a total of 50 blankets by the first of April 2013. The ladies accepted the challenge and began meeting at the lake home of Brown once a week. The church made a monetary donation for purchase of materials to get the project started. Brown had material she has saved over the years and that friends have given to her and the other ladies were soon purchasing materials also. She has an ideal workshop over her garage with shelving for materials, sewing machine, ironing board and very large tables for laying out the materials for cutting. Some of the ladies have never done any sewing, so their task is cutting, ironing and tying knots. The task soon became a day of fellowship, fun and refreshments. Most of the materials have been purchased from Hancock, Joanne’s and Mary Jo’s fabric shops. Some of the blankets are quilts, many are wool and a few have been knitted or crocheted. There are plain ones, some are two-toned tie-togethers, most of them with children’s patterns such as sports figures and super heroes for the boys and female prints for the girls. These blankets are for ages of toddlers through teenagers, so small and large sizes are needed. There is a constant need for blankets for these young people, since they are allowed to take them home after their hospital stay.
The children’s hospital features a skilled team of pediatric professionals with the goal of providing compassionate care to South Carolina’s children and their families. It features family centered patient rooms, playrooms and family spaces so parents can stay close to their children during their confinement and for outpatient treatments. The three floors are separated by the patients’ ages. A hospital stay can be a difficult experience for a child and anything we can do to make that time less stressful is time well spent.
Brown felt this would be a good project for the ladies of the church and they responded so quickly that they have almost reached their goal already. They have decided to make the blanket- making an ongoing project. This hospital also needs stuffed toys for the children. These must be new. The church will now take on the collection of the stuffed animals after the Christmas holidays.
If other churches in the area would like to help out with the blankets or stuffed toys, please take your gifts directly to the children’s hospital, located at 7 Richland Medical Park, Columbia. You can reach the hospital by calling 803-296-KIDS. Nearly 80,000 children are cared for in a year’s time and that is a lot of blankets and stuffed animals that are needed.