Loretta holding a Safety Bear
Linda Shannon-Hills and Dian Gowen
Helping groups in need, SaddleBrooke Ranch Mending Souls continues to make wonderful, cherished items to help people and animals in need. Once a month, we meet for a fun workshop on the first Wednesday morning of each month starting around 9 a.m. Our volunteers, having many different skills, work together as a team. We cut out patterns, pin pieces together for volunteers to sew together, and in some cases we have projects needing poly-fil stuffing to complete the finished product.
The sewing room was buzzing in early April. The focus of our work was making Safety Bears to give to children by police during domestic violence calls and by social workers, but the bears have also been given to veteran’s groups and seniors in assisted living to hug when they need a friend.
SBR Mending Souls delivered 35 Safety Bears to Mending Souls headquarters, and overall we turned in more than 200 items. Besides Safety Bears, there were baby bibs and burp cloths, baby blankets, knitted and crocheted hats, crocheted balls and playtime blocks, Dignity bags and Bereavement bags, Beads of Courage bags, dog beds, zippered school supplies bags, surgical caps, and paper crafted cards.
Would you like to become a volunteer angel, making a difference for someone in need? Volunteering brings joy to our hearts. If you sew, knit, crochet, paper craft or embroider, you can make a difference. We also need other volunteers to cut out and assemble kits for others to make. Do you love to organize? We have a role for you in preparing projects to go to the Mending Souls headquarters. Delivering items to the Mending Souls headquarters when needed can be a great help to our group.
The May work session will be on Wednesday, May 4, starting at 9 a.m. in the Needle Arts Room (sewing) located in the Creative Arts & Technology Center. During the work session, volunteers cut fabrics and prepare kits for others to take home, and others have sewed together the many items being cut.
Recently, residents have asked if they could purchase a Safety Bear for a grandchild. They are so cute, who could resist? For SBR Mending Souls to help bring in monetary donations, we have decided that residents could order a Safety Bear and make a donation to our group. If you would like to request a Safety Bear, contact Dian Gowen at [email protected] or Linda Shannon-Hills at [email protected].
Once you read about the great work done by Mending Souls, you will want to become a volunteer angel as well. Visit www.lovemendingsouls.org to find patterns for all the 30 projects to make on your own or to donate directly to their program.