Service Project 101

A lot of people doing a little can accomplish great things.

At least, that’s what we hope.

On Sat., Sept. 26, several Livingston County women's groups, will join together in a service project that will primarily benefit Livingston County Social Services foster care and adult services divisions. While we are hoping to meet all our goals for quilts, “life boxes” and hygiene kits between our two organizations, we are hopeful that other local women’s groups will help us succeed, either through donations to the project or labor on Sat., Sept. 26.

This service day idea started from an attempt to clean out a church closet. We found ourselves staring at enough fabric leftover from past service projects to make 10 quilts and started wondering what we could do with them. Certainly we could find a local use for them, and we did! As it turns it, we are not the first to consider Livingston County’s foster care program. Other community quilting groups have donated quilts, and a group of the American Sewing Guild centered in Avon frequently donates quilts to the program for children coming into the foster care system. However, says senior caseworker Donna Mankoff, there is always a need for more quilts for those children and other children in the county who are under social services supervision. We will also provide 20 “life boxes,” which are decorated shoe boxes filled with the craft essentials (and a few fun extras) to help children to record their stay in foster care.

Over in the adult employment services division, coordinator Dave Peck reports that frequently, their clients come in without their basic hygiene needs met. How can they apply for work in that condition? He and his staff have a $50 annual budget for hygiene supplies and a general call throughout the county workforce to bring back any hotel hygiene supplies from their trips. The items are in a box and are given out hodgepodge to those in need. Occasionally, Peck said, staff members will buy needed supplies for clients from their own pockets. I think we can help. Our proposed hygiene kits will give the county a four-month supply and will help these people get on the right foot as they begin looking for work. As we hope to collect many more supplies then necessary (fingers crossed!) the extra supplies will be packaged and donated to Livingston County food pantries for distribution with food supplies. The full kits cost between $3.50 and $7 to make when shopping frugally.

We are hopeful that by working together, we can exceed these goals, be able to give more to these people and even spread the wealth around to other organizations in need. Please find the attached flier with more specific lists of what items/and or labor are needed. We would be very grateful for any help with this project. Also, we are happy to come and speak to your women’s groups about the project. Just leave a comment with your contact information or email amanda@lonsberry.com. Thanks!