Fountaingate Gardens community members Audrey Goodfriend and Phyllis Stark put their creative talents together to “crochet for a cause”, creating blankets to support the efforts of We Care Blankets, a charity devoted to providing hand crafted blankets for children and young adults undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Both avid knitters and crocheters, the two friends were pleased to support a cause that aligned with their skills and interests. Recently they welcomed Tamara Baker, founder of the charity, to their community to donate more than a dozen blankets stitched with love.
Baker started We Care Blankets more than two decades ago when she discovered how cold children undergoing cancer treatment can be while in the hospital. According to Baker, “We have a network of more than 25 hospitals, and we supply them with 15,000 blankets each year, keeping children warm and comforted while they battle cancer. I’m so thankful for volunteers like Phyllis and Audrey.
“I think this is an amazing cause for those who are going through such difficult and challenging times,” Stark said while packing the blankets for pick up. “It creates a positive impact not only on the recipients, but also on the broader community, inspiring others to get involved!”
Goodfriend, who crochets while attending the weekly Fountaingate Gardens’ Needlers Group as well as while watching her NY Mets play, said, “Combining passions and interest with a purposeful act is a win-win situation; we enjoy our leisure time, but also make a positive difference in the lives of others.”
Baker noted that a network of volunteers meets regularly to wrap the blankets she has gathered from her volunteers, usually wrapping between one and two thousand blankets for delivery to the many hospitals in the We Care Blankets network. For information or to volunteer for We Care Blankets, contact 516-797-2250 or visit their website at www.wecareblankets.org/volunteer.
