Sorting Charity Projects for Distribution

Preemie Blankets

In the past few years, one of the best things I ever did for myself was to start a charity crafting group in our senior mobile home community. It is now over 3 years old. We keep it very small because we like it that way. Rarely are there more than 6 of us at any one 2-hour Friday morning meeting. But that way, we can all have turns talking and sharing, and we can all hear one another.

Anyhow, this coming week it is time again for me to sort and deliver our finished projects to the various places we have selected for our donations. One is a preemie ward at a local hospital. One is a long-term care center. Another is a community welfare center who distributes our projects for the homeless.

Each week, I bring home the things our ladies have made and I toss them casually into a pile on top of some totes. The totes are already full. They fill up fast when it comes to shawls and lapghans.

When I sort, which will probably be Tuesday or Wednesday, my 15-yr-old male tabby drives me nutz. I place lapghans in one pile, shawls in another, and so on. He immediately plops on top of the pile that appeals to him most.

Now, I don't mind this at all. But I can't have kitty hairs on something going to a long-term care center. I am very careful to NEVER place the preemie things on the floor. Their luxurious softness would pull him over immediately and I'd never get him off of them. So, we do have our discussions, Tigger and I, on sorting days.

I really love seeing how our things accumulate. Some Fridays, one or more of the ladies will begin to apologize for not having worked on some things during the week. I gently remind them that our agreement is to work on charity projects for 2 hours at our meetings on Fridays. They are never obligated to work on them at home. Still, most of us cannot help doing exactly that.

I can't wait to post late this week with a re-cap of the upcoming distribution totals. This part is fun.