Helping the community, one stitch at a time

By Sulz, Dave on July 24, 2020.

LETHBRIDGE HERALD

A welcome fabric donation has ensured the Stitch It Forward Society will be able to continue sewing up a storm to benefit the community.

Diane Herrick, the executive director and co-founder of the charitable society (along with her daughter and co-founder Cora Walkey) which debuted in 2019, says the group recently received a donation of $3,500 in fabric from Village Quilts in Lethbridge.

“The community has been wonderful by donating fabric, elastic, buttons and more and with the donation from Village Quilts we will be able keep our cotton fabric flowing to our many volunteers who work tirelessly,” Herrick said in a news release.

The donation will help Stitch It Forward to meet the demand for scrub bags and ear savers, to assist during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Herrick says the group has orders for 200 quilts, 300 more masks, 10 table leg covers “and a few more projects we are deciding on if we can make it work.” The group’s volunteers have so far produced roughly 4,000 items for community use.

The group’s annual fabric, yarn and craft supply sale is scheduled for Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Exhibition Park in the meeting room (Saddle Room) across from the administration reception desk in the South Pavilion. Donations for the sale can be dropped off at 1004 42 Ave. N. or call 403-892-8660 for pickup.

Money raised will cover the cost of the storage unit where all the group’s supplies are kept. Volunteers are needed for this event. Everyone in attendance will receive a free homemade non-medical mask and COVID precautions will be strongly enforced.

Stitch It Forward’s annual general meeting will be held Aug. 12 via a computer chat program.

The group has been assisted in its efforts by a $1,000 donation from a Calgary foundation to make blankets for a Calgary organization, and by $85,000 from the Canadian Red Cross to help fight the COVID pandemic by making masks, scrub bags, ear protectors and to distribute personal hand sanitizer.

People don’t need to know how to sew in order to assist the society. The group also needs people to cut out fabric, wash and press fabric, and put together packages of fabric, elastic. etc.

For more information about the Stitch It Forward Society, visit the website Stitchitforwarded.

wixsite.com/Mysite.

Comments are closed.