Caring Crafts Annual Donation at BC Children’s Hospital

Power Pioneers visited BC Children’s Hospital in November to deliver annual Caring Crafts donations from Vancouver, Pacific, Fraser Valley and Northern branches.

Pictured here are some of the knitted, crocheted and sewn items.

Left to right: Lorilee Koltai, Ros LeBlanc of Pacific Branch, Pat Gillis, Barbara Conrad and May Dun of Vancouver branch

We had a note from Pat Gillis, Manager of Volunteer Services:
“On behalf of the patients and families at BC Children’s Hospital, I want to thank every BC Hydro Power Pioneer volunteer and crafter for your generous contributions this year. We have received a wonderful, colourful supply of knitted and crocheted items from you once again this season. Creative finger puppets, pillowcases, soft comfy blankets , slippers and cozy outfits for kids of all sizes!

“All year long – but especially at Christmas time – hand crafted items are on display and available for families at the BC Children’s Hospital Santa Centre, where they can choose from a variety of toys and these special, unique favourites.

“Our sincere thanks to everyone who plans, creates, delivers and cheers you on!! We really appreciate your dedicated service and your volunteered time throughout the year creating these special gifts for us.”

Pat tells us: We love the finger puppets – they always run out first in EVERY treasure chest box!

If you’d be interested in volunteering your hobby for Caring Crafts, you can find more details on the web page https://www.powerpioneers.com/our-community/caring-crafts/, or contact your branch Caring Crafts coordinator or provincial chair Barbara Conrad bconrad@telus.net.

Another Caring Crafts good-news story

By Barbara Conrad

One of our Vancouver branch knitters made five blankets more suitable as lap blankets for wheelchair patients than as crib blankets for babies. So this fall I got in touch with a Burnaby hospice and long-term care facility, St. Michael’s Centre. They were thrilled with this unexpected gift.

Photo: Barbara with Malou Cordero, Director of Care

Windfall yarn donation stocks up Caring Crafters around B.C.

By Barbara Conrad

On the Power Pioneers web page for Caring Crafts, we have always said that yarn donations are welcome. In October this brought us a huge donation. We received an email from a woman who was looking for a charity that could accept the enormous yarn stash of her mother, whose condo she was clearing, as her mother had a stroke and is now in a care home. Her enquiry was forwarded to me, and she came to my home that week and dropped off three full carloads of new yarn, exactly what our crafters can use.

I sent a note to the Caring Crafts coordinators in the other six participating branches, with the offer of free yarn. They were all quick to accept. Timing was perfect. With the Annual General Meeting coming up, I was able to draft the branch presidents in Fraser Valley, South Interior and Upper Island to transport yarn. So I came to the meeting
on two days with my car full of yarn. As well, I delivered a supply to Tri-Cities and Pacific coordinators and to crafters in Vancouver branch. We even sent a carton by OCS up to Prince George.

What a win-win! We helped someone with a yarn disposal problem, and distributed it where it can be put to good use—at no cost to Power Pioneers or our crafters.

Photo 1: First drop-off, unsorted.

Photo 2: Sorting yarn after third drop-off – note that most of first two deliveries is not shown.