Quietly over the past year, there’s been a home-grown community project that we thought warranted some attention.
It started with a small group headed up by Andrea Lynn, along with some help from the Senior Center of Boulder City, the Boulder City Library and the United Methodist Church.
These ingenious ladies learned how to take regular grocery store shopping bags, cut them into strips, fashion them into a sort of yarn, and then from there, they crochet them into plastic mats.
The mats all have both a tie closure and a shoulder strap, for easy carrying. (Sizes vary, the one above is 6ft. long by 2ft. wide.)
For those unfortunate enough to be a part of our local area homeless population, the mats provide a layer of dryness and warmth on the ground.
And sadly, the need is large. One thing we’ve heard over the years is that during the Holidays many give to shelters in a variety of ways. But come January, donations slow down, yet the need is no less, and winter has just begun.
So, how can you help, you might ask?
Easy, here’s a couple of ways for you to join in this effort in even small ways:
- Save up: donate your plastic shopping bags by dropping them off at either the Boulder City Senior Center or the BC Library.
- Show up: the Crochet for a Cause group meets every Monday at the Senior Center from 1-3pm and Tuesdays at the BC Library from 2:30-4pm. NO SKILLS REQUIRED! We promise, anyone with an interest can help.
And for those who are homebound, they can still take part. Simply make arrangements to drop off and pick up supplies of bags. Our own BC Social mom Marion K. (who passed away this 2017) was able to help with this project. Even when her Parkinson’s and dementia had worsened, it gave her something to keep her hands busy and still feel useful, helpful and involved.
The group tells me they’ve donated dozens of mats already to both Emergency Aid and even an orphanage in Mexico, and they just recently donated another 51 mats to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.
More help is always needed though, so we thought this was a great community project, and it surely makes you feel better than dumping your unused grocery bags into the recycle bin!
Spread the word and help support this community project! For more information you can show up at any of their regular meetings or you can call the United Methodist Church at 702-293-7240.
