MIDDLEBURY, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network)—Harold and Elaine Yoder were serving as first-time SOOP volunteers in Mashulaville, Miss., when Elaine had the idea to turn used clothing into blankets. SOOP is a Mennonite Mission Network volunteer program for families and individuals of all ages. Working at the Mashulaville Dormitory, a house of hospitality managed by Larry and Maxine Miller, Elaine noticed the worn condition of some of the dormitory’s bed linens.
Later, while sorting clothing for the ministry’s thrift store, Elaine saw a growing pile of donated clothing that was unacceptable for resale. “My wheels started turning,” she said. She recognized the pile of cast-off clothing as a source of raw materials.
“We can turn these clothes into blankets!” Elaine told Harold. Each night they would tote clothes back to the dormitory where Elaine would wash, dry and bag the clothing, preparing to take it back home to Middlebury.
“For two weeks, we collected lots of materials for use in our quilts, especially blue jeans. The knees and fronts of the [jean] legs become worn and ragged, but the back of the legs is still in good shape.” As Harold drove the 13 hours back to Middlebury, Elaine busied herself cutting quilt squares in the passenger seat.
Back in Indiana, Elaine enlisted friends and strangers to help with her blanket project. From casual acquaintances at the post office to parents of her grandson’s soccer teammates, Elaine soon acquired a core group of five sewing volunteers.
Mary Frye of Middlebury was recovering from surgery when Elaine approached her with an invitation to join the group. “I love the sewing,” Frye said. “I couldn’t go out and do much at the time [when Elaine first approached her], but now I’ve got six [blanket] tops ready to finish.”
LuEtta Friesen of Middlebury met Elaine at the post office.
“We got to talking and learned we had both just returned from volunteer assignments,” Friesen recalled. “She told me of her dream of making the blankets. I offered to help because it’s an opportunity to help people in need, and make new friends.”
Elaine cuts the squares, Frye sews the blanket tops, and the rest of them meet once a week to tie the quilts. So far, Elaine and her small group of friends have completed and donated about 20 quilts in just six months. The quilts have gone to Larry and Maxine Miller for the Mashulaville Dormitory and American Red Cross offices in Elkhart, Ind., and New Orleans, where they are distributed to families who have lost their homes due to house fires.
When asked why they participate in the blanket project, each woman expressed a strong interest in volunteer work. Phyllis Kehr, of Wakarusa, Ind., could have been describing any one of the women in the group when she said of Elaine, “She’s just got the heart of a volunteer.”
