by Mary Jo Prinsen

Holly Porter has been a south metro Bundles of Love volunteer almost as long as the group has been meeting in Apple Valley. Her husband Bill recently retired and is now also volunteering for Bundles of Love.

Holly and Bill have been married for 15 years and have a merged family, with Bill's 2 sons, 1 daughter and 3 grandchildren living on the West Coast, and Holly's 4 sons and newborn grandson living in the Twin Cities area.

Now that he's retired from a career of sales management with Lifetouch, Bill is finding more time for his hobbies of golf, skiing, reading and crossword puzzles. He's also helping round up donations of supplies and funding for Bundles of Love. He enjoys the volunteer work which keeps his mind occupied, and through which he finds he can make use of his sales training methods, finding ways to "sell" Bundles of Love to those he meets.

Holly has been sewing since she was a child growing up on a farm in northern Minnesota. She describes sewing as her passion, and says she has always wanted to volunteer, but was unable to find enough time while her children were young. Now that her sons have left home, Holly finds volunteering for Bundles of Love enjoyable. An added benefit, is that her sons are proud of the volunteer work that she and Bill are doing.

Holly and Bill are both wonderful to work with and a great asset to Bundles of Love. Thank you both!

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Donna Stratioti
Duluth, MN

by Mary Jo Prinsen
with help from Marilyn Rukavina

Donna Stratioti is a long-time and faithful Bundles of Love volunteer from Duluth. Donna learned about Bundles of Love via the internet. She started knitting baby blankets and mailing them to us in Lakeville. Since Marilyn and Rob Rukavina often travel to Duluth to visit Rob's family, we were able to save Donna some postage by having her donations picked up and delivered for packing into bundles by the North Metro work group.

Marilyn describes Donna as a very caring and "bubbly" person. Donna has been a childcare provider in Duluth for 32 years. She says she has "seen many infants pass through my life, and I want them all to know, that they are loved. When I knit, whether it be booties or a blanket for the little ones, I am thinking of how warm this will keep a little one; or, how these fun colors will be to a little one."

Donna knits while caring for the children in her care, and can quickly put down her current project when needed, then pick it up again later. The daycare children, each of whom has received their own blanket from Donna, know that she is knitting for other babies that need blankets.

Since they are fascinated by the colors, Donna involves them in her new projects by letting them pick out the yarn colors. Donna finds that the children play much better, together or apart, when they see her knitting, almost as if they are making sure that she can finish the blanket, by being good and not interrupting her work. In some cases, they are so calmed by her knitting that they fall asleep listening to the clicking of her knitting needles.

Donna and her husband, George, will celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary, in May 2004. Although Donna says she would have enjoyed a houseful of babies, as it turned out, she and George have 3 grown, single children, 2 who live nearby and 1 in Chicago, who bring her much joy and happiness, although no grandchildren (yet).

According to Donna, "volunteering has always given me much joy and much pleasure...knitting is something that also brings me much joy and pleasure...so, to add the two together, is pure heaven, to me!"