winter2003newsletter-page11

Rochester Work Group

The Rochester Work Groups meets at Assisi Heights in the Tekawitha Room twice each month - the "drop-off pick-up" meeting is the third Thursday evening from 6:30-7:30pm. The last Saturday of the month is a work meeting from 9am to 2 pm. These dates are changed if there is a holiday. Many volunteers also work from home. Two of our volunteers just enjoy getting together to make quilts which they deliver to Ed-Ventures Tours, 604 11th Av NW in Rochester, which is our drop off center 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday.

The Rochester volunteers distribute bundles with the help of social workers from New Life Family Services of Rochester, Olmsted Medical Group, Mayo Medical Center and Olmsted County. We receive other requests as well and are often called upon to assist babies of families in difficult situations. Recently we made a delivery to a baby with a heart defect born to a family relocating and hoping for a better life.

Our group has "kits" of items ready to sew in our storage at Assisi Heights. Bridget Mueller coordinates the quilt fabric and makes up quilt kits and cuts out crib sheets to match. She also does many other things including keeping our storage organized. We are very fortunate to have her in our group and to have the space at Assisi Heights for meetings and storage. Thank you to Bridget and to the Sisters of St. Francis who live and work at Assisi Heights.

In June a Mayo Social Worker asked if we could make a burial gown for a two-pound baby boy. Later we were asked if we could make an identical one for a three-pound baby boy. This one was for his twin brother. Bundles of Love offered a bit of comfort to a grieving family in the form of silky fabric and satin trim.

The fifty bundles we packed as our Make a Difference Day activity depleted our supplies. Amazingly, like water turned to wine, the supplies to pack yet more bundles have been delivered by our volunteers. Special requests like the one for warm clothing to take a preemie home from the hospital have come frequently through these winter months.

In December we delivered warm mittens and hats and Beanie Babies to Channel One, the local food shelves, and to the Ronald McDonald House. We are now gathering items to send to Honduras where the brother of one of our volunteers, Nancy O'Neill, has gone on many mission trips. He knows the great needs in this third world country and has been very moved by the work of Nancy and other volunteers.

Our activities now include speaking engagements where we tell the story of Bundles of Love. Thank you to the Olmsted Medical Center Auxiliary for the speaking invitation and the generous monetary gift. In February the Bundles of Love story will be told to a Kiwanis group and a group of church women.

Thank you to St. Josephs parish of Theilmann, Zumbro Lutheran Church and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Rochester who have made baby items or given us supplies and gently used items. Also, thank you to the individuals who have also given us supplies and monetary gifts. We will work to help those in need to have a better life because you cared.

We need more volunteers who enjoy sewing and serging or needlework. For more information, contact Joanne Larsen at Joanne@Ed-Ventures.com.

~ Joanne Larsen, Bundles of Love Vice President and Rochester area coordinator

Thank You Girl Scouts!

The Girl Scout assistance to the Rochester Bundles of Love Work Group started with the work of Amy Moses who earned her Gold Award by coordinating an effort that produced over fifty quilts and 110 teddy bears for Bundles of Love. She involved scouts and quilters in the St. Charles area.

In May, 2002, Troop 82 from St. John's School in Rochester presented Bundles of Love with 8 quilts that these girl scouts sewed as a service project. They started the quilts in March and had them totally completed to present on May 16. The quilts were beautiful! The scouts chose to have their quilts sent to an orphanage in Colombia which is operated by the Franciscan Nuns whom our volunteers have met when they come to Assisi Heights.

In the fall, Scouts made Bundles of Love posters which they distributed around the community. They sewed burp clothes and in December they collected baby supplies at St. Johns School filling seven boxes with diapers and other baby needs to be put in bundles.

We look forward to working with more troops. They are so enthusiastic and sincere. Thank you girls and leaders for your service!

IBM Community Service Grant Received

Thanks to Kary Garvey from the Rochester work group, Bundles of Love was given a $1000 grant from IBM through their Funds for Community Service. As an IBM employee, Kary could apply for either computer equipment or money to help a local non-profit group for which she had volunteered for one year or more. In 2002, Kary has helped the Rochester work group coordinate the delivery of about 160 baby blankets, baby hats, and mittens to to support the work of the Franciscan nuns in Bogota Colombia. The funds were requested to purchase equipment and were used to buy a serger, 2 sewing machines, thread and machine needles for the use of the Rochester work group for work meetings and in teaching sewing skills. Thank you Kary and IBM for supporting the work of Bundles of Love!

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