At the February ’26 Branch executive meeting, a 70th Anniversary, Feather-in-Your-Cap proposal was discussed for creating and filling with personal items 70 tote-bags for 70 mothers living in affordable housing units under the direction of the London-Middlesex Housing Chaplaincy.
Sharan Lunau showed a couple of hand-sewn tote-bags and offered to create 70 sewing kits for herself and other volunteers to sew for this project. Four members volunteered their sewing abilities, Jane Williams, Julia Ballem, Deb Owens and Jennifer Jolliffe (who sewed 50 bags!). By the April Luncheon/Branch meeting all 76 bags were on display and pictures taken with their creators. The extra bags will be given to the Book Table people for their use.
The April Outreach program was money donated by our members to pay the expenses incurred for this project. Happily, over $1,000.00 was collected, thank you members!
As previously described in a News write-up, Michele Specht and Helen Bobyk worked with 8 volunteers in creating and writing messages on personal Mothers’ Day cards for the 70 bags.
Yet other members went shopping for personal items to go in the bags. There are 13 items in each bag which we know the mothers will enjoy using.
On April 30th, yet more volunteers met at Lynda Faulkner’s house to fill the bags and deliver them to the Chaplaincy office so they would be ready for delivery by the Mothers’ Day weekend, May 10th.
Unfortunately, there is not space enough here to show all the pictures of the volunteers involved, but one of our executive members is creating a slide show for our next Luncheon meeting.
By:- Janice Thielenhaus
Email:- jthielenhaus@hotmail.com
