As the holiday season approached, the seasoned crafters of St. Jacobs Place decided to put their artistic skills to work for a good cause.
Throughout the fall, residents at the retirement home created tea towel angels, mitten warmers, and a variety of chocolates and treats to sell as a fundraiser for the Woolwich Community Services Christmas Goodwill Program.
“Woolwich Community Services did a lot to help me, so I enjoy giving back to them for all they have done over the years,” explained Doris Runstedler, a St. Jacobs Place resident involved in the fundraiser. “Some of us have been involved with Woolwich Community Services for a number of years, so we are very familiar with the work they do to help people in our community all year long. Their Christmas program in particular, is such a wonderful resource for people in need during the holidays.”
Typically, an arts and crafts group meets each month at St. Jacobs Place, life enhancement coordinator Krysta Cronin explained. They re-doubled their efforts last month, creating a wide variety of goodies and hand crafted pieces.
“There are a lot of ladies here who like to do crafts, and they came up with the idea to use their crafts to raise money for WCS because they do such great work for the community,” Cronin said. “Family members and some donors from the churches donated some handmade scarves and hats to the sale as well.”
Last month, St. Jacobs Place welcomed family and friends as well as members of the community to come by to the sale, and it was a big success.
On December 9, Jill Martin of the WCS Christmas Goodwill Program stopped by the retirement home to accept the $550 raised.
“I want to thank you all for raising money for the Woolwich Community Services Christmas Goodwill campaign, which helps take care of families in need,” she told residents convened in the dining hall. “Last year, we helped over 150 families and we figure we will be supporting that number again this year. All of the families get lots of food, they get a turkey or a ham, they get a food voucher for one of the grocery stores, and the children get whatever was on their wish list- well, within reason. Parents give us a gift list and we try to pick out something that each child really truly wants. So we can definitely use this money to make sure that everyone has a very Merry Christmas. And so I want to thank all of you and wish you all a Merry Christmas as well.”
A longstanding program in the community, this year’s Christmas Goodwill campaign moved into high gear this week with the preparation of hampers at Lions Hall in Elmira.
