Helping Hands During Covid-19

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S O C I A L    D I S T A N C I N G
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          Due to covid-19 many activities have been cancelled.   Club members continue social distancing. Virtual meetings are being held to find ways to provide help during these troubled times.



Highlights of members helping
during covid-19

   Lisa L - (Active member; former President HWC)
          Lisa began volunteering with LINK in 1995 as a food coordinator. She coordinated deliveries with families for three two-week shifts and later began coordinating the Holiday Program in 2008. In 2010 she became President of LINK.
          When the pandemic hit, LINK was swamped with calls for help. Many calls were from the Hispanic community as many were out of work and had limited access to medical resources.   Deliveries increased from 20 families to an all time high of 189 families a week by May 10.
       LINKs small pantry located behind Herndon United Methodist Church and the basement storage at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church were emptied soon after food donations arrived.   Friends of LINK, HWC members, church members, businesses and the community responded to pleas for donations through social media with food items and financial donations to purchase grocery gift cards. Delivery drivers increased from 2 to 12 per day as the community responded to replenish the food. Every donation helps LINK.
          Lisa said: "My heart is full knowing our community and our HWC members believe in and support the work LINK is doing to
help provide food to families."

Cheryl S (Active Member)
On March 30th, Virginia government regulations initiated a shelter in place and/or maintaining social distancing. The Home Life Department sponsors a diaper drive every April as a way to give back to the community. Changes were made on collecting diapers due to these regulations. Club members were asked to drop off their donations at the front door, ring the bell and step back six feet for a brief chat.
Another way to donate was to send donations directly from Amazon to the Diaper Bank using Amazon Smile. This was a win-win for everyone as HWC receives points from Amazon for online purchases. HWC members continue to be generous this year by collecting 1,974 diapers and 19 packages of wipes and $340 in checks.
After collecting the donations from members, arrangement were made with the NOVA Diaper Bank representative to transfer the diapers. The representative (Susan) met us in the driveway (Kathy H, club President, Helen W, Chair,Home Life and Cheryl). We all wore face masks and maintained social distancing as we made the exchange. Susan shared details about the Northern Virginia Diaper Bank with us and expressed their gratitude for HWCs support.

Susy L
(Active member)
          Susy was looking for something to do to help (and pass the time) - something low-risk that would help make a difference for someone that needed help. Joann Fabric's website was asking for masks to be made (along with patterns). Their goal was 100 million masks. They had reached over 165 million masks by end of May.
          Susy wanted to donate masks locally. By the end of May she made 166 masks. Fifty three masks were given to the Embry Rucker Community Shelter. Sixty masks were given to Fairfax County, Volunteer Fairfax to protect vulnerable populations at testing centers. The remainder were distributed to friends and family. She started with fabric scraps on hand - three masks were made from scraps from Sara's bandanas. There are folks walking around wearing masks made from curtains and an old sheet. Friends she made masks for sent her a gift certificate to Joann's to buy new fabric as a thank you. Susy said: "It was more enjoyable to sew on interesting fabrics vs old sheets!"

Following is slide show of ways to help

Barb R (Active member)
Barb started making camouflaged face masks after a request from her son-in-law for his DC National Guard Unit.
Being the daughter of a seamstress, she learned how to sew at a young age (before she could walk - not quite). Her mom gave all the neighborhood girls sewing lessons, to include a fashion show to model their projects for all the mom's. She quickly dusted off her machine and started sewing to make face masks.
After making about 50 masks, her daughter who is a physical therapist at Prince William Hospital requested she switch to scrub hats for her therapy department. Thanks to the internet, she found easy patterns (easy, if one knew the exact size of the face/head to be fitted....yes, alterations were needed).

Gabriele O (Active member)
While staying close to home Gabriele spent time knitting several scarves for the Red Scarf Project. Knitting each scarf took about ten hours and the vibrant red colors are breathtaking.
During social distancing she also made donations to LINK,
a Marine Food Drive and ordered food on-line for Women Giving Back. There was also a chance to take food purchased at Costco and drop it off at LINK. As the need for medical supplies continues, she made a donation to Medical Missionaries.