Members of the Stitching Bees with items they made for Project Night Night, an organization whose mission is to provide childhood essentials to homeless children from birth to pre-teens.
The Evergreens’ Stitching Bees in Moorestown recently made baby gifts, baby blankets, hats and more for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Project Night Night and Virtua Health’s rainbow baby program.
The Stitching Bees are a group of residents who live at The Evergreens retirement community. They meet on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to noon to crochet and knit items for nonprofits. All are welcome to join; residents don’t have to knit or crochet at meetings but are welcome to experience the camaraderie.
“We like to do it here (at Evergreens) because when we have new people who are looking to live here, they can see that there’s a group here and that we’re welcome to anybody who wants to come,” said Janet Kaplan, co-founder of the Stitching Bees.
“It’s just a very good group,” she added. “It’s nothing you must sign in or sign out (for). You just come if you feel like it on that day.”
“Some of the ladies come to us – they’re new – and they’ll sit down, and they’ll say, ‘I haven’t crocheted or knitted in years and years,’ so everybody helps them,” explained Elli DiCola, co-founder of the group. “ … I think that when we meet, because we’re all stitchers, we appreciate each other’s work …
“It’s a place to shine.”
Project Night Night is an organization whose mission is to provide free Night Night packages to homeless children from birth to pre-teens who need childhood essentials to have a concrete and predictable source of security and increased exposure to high-quality literacy materials. Each package contains a new security blanket, an appropriate age-children’s book and a stuffed animal.
Virtua Health’s rainbow baby program is run by RN Ann Coyle, manager of perinatal bereavement programs for all of Virtua Health. The program helps women who are pregnant but who have had a previous miscarriage or infant loss, according to NJ Spotlight News. After a rainbow baby is born at Virtua, Coyle takes the footprints of the baby and provides the family with a rainbow-colored blanket and a book called “A Rainbow Baby Story.”
“I think the big word is ‘supportive,’” DiCola said of the Stitching Bees. “No matter how well people crochet or knit or try to start, I think (it’s) supportive.”
“It’s just such a nice place for women to gather,” echoed Kathryn Mouber, another group co-founder. “Everybody’s welcome.”
