Keeping it all together!

Well, it is time to update you on how I am "keeping it all together"! And that is an interesting thing as there is more to a sewing day than setting the date and sewing. Once I had set the date and began the plans for the sewing day, I learned something new almost every day. There has been a bit of work to getting this all set up but it will be a lot of fun for those of you who participate and I can tell that it will be a successful event on Saturday. As of right now there are almost 40 people involved in either sewing, providing lunch, donating fabric, donating personal items and donating tote bags, pillowcases, quilts and more that they have made and have either mailed or plan to drop off on Saturday.
This week I made contact with the United Way in Iowa City, the Crisis Center in Iowa City, two churches in Cedar Rapids, plus my sister and a couple of quilting friends in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. Following conversations with these contacts I have a more concrete idea of what items will go where and they are as follows:

1. The Sew and Share Flood Relief project is primarily about making items for those in need. However some people have donated money and so any monetary donations will go to the bank account at First State Bank in Henderson and then checks will be written to Johnson County United Way which covers the Iowa City/Coralville area and surrounding communities. All funds donated there will go to people in need. No administrative costs will be taken from the funds sent. An anonymous donor has underwritten all administrative costs for the period of flood relief efforts and this allows all funds to go to those in need. If you wish your funds to go to any other United Way please indicate so on checks written for flood relief.

2. The Crisis Center is in need of specific items such as cleaning items, equipment and personal hygiene products/care. The tote bags we make will be filled with some of these items plus we will be making small personal care packs. There will also be tote bags that will contain colors, coloring books, etc. for children. Some pillowcases will also be sent. All these items will be boxed and delivered to the Crisis Center in Iowa City and delivered by July 27th.

3. The quilts, pillowcases, dishtowels, and other items we make will go to specific families in need. These items will not be distributed immediately as many people do not have homes to go to yet. Some are staying with relatives and friends. They have only begun to clean their homes and in some cases do not even know if their home will be salvageable. Storage is at a premium in the IC/CR area so these "soft items" will remain here and will not be sent until August at the earliest. (Note: There was a suggestion that we could donate the items we make to the Goodwill as flood victims have been given vouchers to go and select items needed to replace lost belongings. However, this is not an option for the items we are making as once donated to Goodwill or the Crowded Closet - a thrift shop in Iowa City - anyone can purchase whatever is donated and that's not our purpose here.) At this time, I have connections to several families that have lost their homes and/or belongings. There are many more and so with help from the churches and quilting friends in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area we will see that these items go directly to people who need them the most.

And one last thing..........I have to say thank you to my son's girlfriend, Stacia, as she is the one who is going to deliver the items to the IC/CR area. I was counting on her before I actually asked if she would help and her response was like that of the rest of you who are participating - "I would be more than happy to take whatever you need........every little bit helps." She also made the same observation that makes me forge ahead with this project that "this is such a tragedy for the people who lost everything and it seems that once it is off the front page everyone forgets about it but these people who lost their homes and businesses will be recovering and rebuilding their lives for a long time." So what little we can offer may be just the thing that someone needs so whatever you can do to help is very much appreciated!!!

I think that's all for tonight. Goodnight, Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite! (How many of you said that when you were kids?)