By Sara Hymas Community Council Member, 2020-21
In a normal year without the disruption of COVID-19, our League days are filled with projects and volunteerism to help build better communities. With the absence of what would have been our 28th year of CARE Fair, the closure of our Women Helping Women Boutique, and not being able to meet in-person for a variety of smaller, mini-projects, the League had to make a major pivot. This required the Project and Community Councils to brainstorm and think of new ways to stay involved in our local community and identify possible needs we might be able to fulfill. What has come to life in 2020 are imaginative and beautiful new projects which serve women and children in our community.
In October, the Community Council reached out to Primary Children’s Hospital for volunteer opportunities in which the League could safely participate. One of the suggested options was Christmas in a Box; these boxes would include decorations, crafts, stuffed animals, books, movies, and pillowcases. These are given to the children to decorate their hospital rooms to normalize their hospital experience, especially during the holiday season.
We created 60 bags that included trees, lights, ornaments, stuffed animals, different holiday-themed movies, and books. More than half of the items were donated by League members. The original plan for the project was to hold a drive for the items via Amazon and to fill the bags in two separate in-person events, but due to new coronavirus restrictions, we had to pivot and come up with a backup plan. The Community Council set up an assembly line in my garage, and with the help of a few committee members, we were able to get bags filled and prepared for delivery.
Despite the changes in the middle of the project, we successfully delivered 60 Christmas bags to Primary Children’s Hospital at the beginning of December. During the drop-off, we were able to show the contents of the bags to the volunteer coordinator and her team, and they were ecstatic with what we were able to give to the children! Thank you so much to everyone who donated; it was a very successful event!
