Join our Workday Meetings EVERY Thursday 10:00 am - 2:30 pm AND on the FIRST Saturday of each month 10:00 am - 2:30 pm at 13425 Webb Chapel Rd., Farmers Branch, TX 75234 (additional info below on right)
8/7/14
Newsletter Archive
Ever wish you could refer back to one of our old newsletters? Now you can! To access past newsletters: LTB Newsletter Archive
7/15/14
Delivery Totals for Second Quarter 2014
Second Quarter 2014 was a very productive quarter for our chapter! We delivered a total of 7,272 items to help needy babies in the Dallas area. This represents a 17% increase over the 2nd quarter of last year!
Parkland had indicated that they needed more blankets and our wonderful volunteers answered the call. In 2Q2014 , we delivered 2,996 blankets, that is 544 more than in 2Q2013! This included 400 additional receiving blankets, 60 additional quilts, 43 additional afghans and 41 additional fleece blankets. This wouldn't be possible without the dedication of each volunteer who sewed, quilted, crocheted, knitted, ironed, turned, tore flannel or cut for us AND the generous financial support from donors that made it possible for us to buy additional flannel, fleece and batting.
Delivery details by agency are provided below. Keep up the great work!
Delivery Totals for April 2014
Parkland
Bib 6
Blanket, Afghan 31
Blanket, Fleece 34
Blanket, Quilt 198
Blanket, Receiving 748
Booties 68
Bottle, BPA Free 1
Burial, Bunting/Pouch 25
Burial Garment 3
Burp Cloth 6
Diaper Tote, Large 3
Diaper Tote, Handsewn 14
NICU Diaper Shirt 26
Hat 849
Jacket 1
Memory Envelope 35
Mittens 4
Onesie 329
Pacifier or holder 2
Pants 1
Shirt 20
Socks, Plain 339
Sleeper 11
Sweater 7
"T" Shirt 21
Toiletry Items 1
Washcloth 47
Gel Pillow Cases 75
Corner pillows 6
DVD 1
Hooded towel 1
Thermometer 1
Parkland total for month
2,914
Sharing Life
Blanket, Receiving 20
Sharing Life total for month 20
Nexus
Blanket, Quilt 2
Blanket, Receiving 20
Nexus total for month
22
Family Place
Blanket, Receiving 20
Family Place total for month 20
Hope 4 Refugees
Blanket, Receiving 7
Diapers (Set of 6)
5
Dress 5
Gown 4
Jacket 1
Sleeper 3
Wipes (Pack of 80)
2
Gently Used Clothes 10
Hope 4 Refuges total for month 37
White Rock Center for Hope
Crib Set (5 pc) 1
Scarves 1
White Rock Center for Hope total for month 2
Terrell Nursing Home
Blanket, Afghan 4
Terrell Nursing Home total for month 4
GRAND TOTAL for month of April 3019
.
.
Delivery Totals for May 2014
Parkland
Blanket, Afghan 17
Blanket, Fleece 30
Blanket, Quilt 173
Blanket, Receiving 715
Booties 47
Burial, Bunting/Pouch 20
Diaper Tote, Handsewn 60
Memory Envelope 20
Mittens 3
Onesie 157
Shirt 129
Socks, Plain 173
Sweater 5
Stuffed Toy, Medium 4
"T" Shirt 27
Gel Pillow Cases 70
Slings 8
Premie vest 4
Burial Quilt 8
Parkland total for month
2171
Sharing Life
Blanket, Receiving 20
Women’s Clothing 50
Sharing Life total for month 70
Nexus
Blanket, Receiving 20
Nexus total for month
20
Family Place
Blanket, Receiving 20
Gown 25
Hat 1
Family Place total for month 46
White Rock Center for Hope
Toiletries 15
White Rock Center for Hope total for month 15
Grand Total for month of May 2322
Delivery Totals for June 2014
Parkland
Blanket, Afghan 26
Blanket, Fleece 1
Blanket, Quilt 245
Blanket, Receiving 585
Booties 80
Burp Cloth 1
Diaper Tote, Handsewn 36
Hat 442
Memory Envelope 35
Onesie 151
Pants 2
Shirt 85
Socks, Plain 60
Sleeper 2
Sweater 4
"T" Shirt 19
Washcloth 10
Gel Pillow Cases 75
Slings 10
Parkland total for month
1,869
Sharing Life
Blanket, Receiving 20
Sharing Life total for month 20
Nexus
Blanket,
Receiving 20
Nexus total
for month
Family Place
Blanket,
Receiving 20
Gown 2
Family Place
total for month 22
GRAND TOTAL
for month of June 1,931
7/9/14
Loom Knitting Class at Berkley Specialty
Berkley Specialty Underwriting Managers in
Irving has pledged to support Newborns In Need-Dallas Area Chapter for
the rest of this year. They have planned employee donation events each
quarter to support our mission, but they wanted to go a step further and
give their time volunteering.
So this month, Newborns in Need offered a loom knitting class on site during lunch and it was very well attended. The company treated all attendees to a yummy lunch and Paula Feldman, Brenda Devaney and Kay Stephenson taught the basics of loom knitting. The group was very enthusiastic and several employees finished their first hats during the class. We will be returning on July 10 to teach them some advanced techniques and patterns on the loom.
So this month, Newborns in Need offered a loom knitting class on site during lunch and it was very well attended. The company treated all attendees to a yummy lunch and Paula Feldman, Brenda Devaney and Kay Stephenson taught the basics of loom knitting. The group was very enthusiastic and several employees finished their first hats during the class. We will be returning on July 10 to teach them some advanced techniques and patterns on the loom.
The employees also gave generously this
month in terms of essentials for us to distribute to our agencies. We
will pick up their donations this week (top photo) along with over 80 loom knitted
hats that they have completed in just two weeks (bottom photo)!!!
We are so fortunate
to have a generous firm like Berkley adopt us this year!
Berkley Specialty Underwriting Managers (BSUM) operates as a specialty
insurance underwriting management company providing excess and surplus
lines general liability coverage to the wholesale market and a complete
portfolio of insurance products to the Entertainment, Sports and
Environmental industries.
7/1/14
Coppell Senior Center Supports Newborns In Need Dallas Chapter
We love our new satellite group at Coppell Senior Center! Thanks to Paula Feldman for planning the group's activities each week. Here is an article posted in this week's Coppell Gazette.
The Coppell Senior Center has announced its newest community group, the “Knit Wits”. The Knit Wits group was recently formed to provide an opportunity for Seniors interested in any of the fiber arts, such as knitting, crocheting, looming or sewing, to gather together and create their works of art in a fun and creative environment at the Coppell Senior and Community Center.
Many of the items made by group members, such as hats, booties, blankets and baby slings are donated to area babies in need, through the program, “Newborns in Need”. Newborns in Need is a national non-profit program established to provide basic necessities to sick, premature or needy newborn infants.
The Dallas area chapter was founded in 1999, and local volunteers provide baby items through the Parkland Health and Hospital System. The Coppell Senior Center Knit Wits are off to a great start, with members donating over 200 baby items to Newborns in Need, since the group’s creation in May 2014.
Anyone ages 50 and up, wishing to become involved with the Knit Wits group is invited to attend their weekly meeting, held Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. at the Coppell Senior and Community Center at Grapevine Springs. There is no fee to be involved in the group; however, participants must bring their own supplies.
http://starlocalmedia.com/coppellgazette/coppell-seniors-donate-to-newborns-in-need/article_7bdd3bb0-0098-11e4-8045-0019bb2963f4.html#.U7K3LGwjyRA.facebook
Posted: Monday, June 30, 2014 3:52 pm,
The Coppell Senior Center has announced its newest community group, the “Knit Wits”. The Knit Wits group was recently formed to provide an opportunity for Seniors interested in any of the fiber arts, such as knitting, crocheting, looming or sewing, to gather together and create their works of art in a fun and creative environment at the Coppell Senior and Community Center.
Many of the items made by group members, such as hats, booties, blankets and baby slings are donated to area babies in need, through the program, “Newborns in Need”. Newborns in Need is a national non-profit program established to provide basic necessities to sick, premature or needy newborn infants.
The Dallas area chapter was founded in 1999, and local volunteers provide baby items through the Parkland Health and Hospital System. The Coppell Senior Center Knit Wits are off to a great start, with members donating over 200 baby items to Newborns in Need, since the group’s creation in May 2014.
Anyone ages 50 and up, wishing to become involved with the Knit Wits group is invited to attend their weekly meeting, held Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. at the Coppell Senior and Community Center at Grapevine Springs. There is no fee to be involved in the group; however, participants must bring their own supplies.
http://starlocalmedia.com/coppellgazette/coppell-seniors-donate-to-newborns-in-need/article_7bdd3bb0-0098-11e4-8045-0019bb2963f4.html#.U7K3LGwjyRA.facebook
6/5/14
Creative Katherine Thompson
Irving, Texas, population 900 at the time, was the birthplace of Katherine Thompson. As a child, Katherine enjoyed living in a small town and playing in the woods. After High School and a summer job as legal secretary, she attended NTSU (Now UNT) for a couple years. She was then married and had two sons. James is now 46. He lives in Alabama with his wife and four children. James went to West Point, followed by Military Service. He has worked with Boeing for 20 years. Rob is 48, married,and has 2 children. They live in Magnolia, Texas. He is an investigator and expert witness for Carr Engineering. All six of Katherine's grandchildren have the same shade of red hair!!
Katherine worked at Austin Commercial construction company for 22 years. She worked in accounting at different job sites for major projects all over the city, including a two year stint in Albuquerque. She saw many projects being built from the ground up. "I stood on the ground and stood on the roof. I liked standing on the roof and seeing the view. "
A few months before Katherine left Austin Commercial she wondered, "What am I going to do when I retire?" She asked around at work and heard about Newborns In Need. She and a coworker came to their first Newborns In Need Saturday meeting in February of 2013. She officially retired in April, then started coming to the Thursday meetings as well. She exclaimed, "I dearly love it!" Katherine learned to crochet from her grandmother when she was 10. She enjoys quilting, making booties, and knitting. She also enjoys learning new things from all our wonderful teachers at Newborns In Need. This is a creative outlet for Katherine. She has always been a creative person.
6/3/14
American Sewing Guild "Sew In" is a Huge Success!
The DFW chapter of the American Sewing Guild held a six hour "sew-in" for Newborns in Need on April 26. With the help of volunteers from NIN, they were able to complete 256 items (hats, quilt tops, receiving blankets, t-shirts, strip quilts, booties and more) in just one day!!! And many of the participants took home extra materials to make additional items to bring in later.
Special thanks goes to Margaret Chance of the ASG for inviting us in for the day, to Katherine Thompson for coordinating our participation, selecting projects and ensuring we had materials cut and ready to sew for the event, to Wanda Singer, Lassie Smith and Marge Bessire who volunteered at the event setting up and teaching the ASG members our processes and patterns and finally to the many volunteers who helped cut and organize knit hats, booties, t-shirts and quilts in the weeks before the sew in.
This was a true community effort and a huge success and they hope to host another event soon!
Additional pictures from the day's activities:
5/15/14
Marge Vissers, "The Other Marge"
Marge Vissers, also known as “The Other Marge” was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City. She went to college in the city and taught one year of school there. She then married a man she had gone to church with since they were children. He was in the Army and they were separated for two of the first four years of their marriage. During his 22 year military career they moved all over, living in Germany, Colombia and in several places in America. They have two daughters, Susan, born in Texas and Diane, born in Georgia. They settled in Carrollton, Texas and opened a Dunkin’ Donuts at Webb Chapel and Beltline. After this venture, she worked as a case manager for senior adults, then as a court clerk for the justice of the peace in Farmers Branch. Then it was time to RETIRE!!
Marge Vissers was introduced to Newborns In Need by Marge
Bessire, who lived across the street from her.
Another neighbor, Barb Kelly was instrumental in getting her started
making hats and other needed items. Marge’s special focus is in making Parkland
Christmas Bags. She collects Christmas
fabric and items for the bags all year long.
Approximately 350 draw string bags are sewn and filled with a sleeper or
gown, blanket, hat, pair of booties, and a toy. These are distributed at
Christmastime and are appreciated greatly by all the families who receive them.
4/24/14
Meeting the Needs at Parkland Hospital
The staff at Parkland frequently expresses their appreciation to
Newborns in Need not only for the quantity of donations received each
month but also for the quality! It is great knowing that the hard work
of our volunteers is truly meeting the needs of the precious babies born
there.
Volunteers often ask "How many of 'these' do they need each
month?" so we wanted to share more about the specific needs at Parkland
with you.
When we delivered the Christmas bags in December, we asked the Parkland team for feedback and their immediate response was "blankets, we can always use more blankets". While we were able to increase our donation of quilts and afghans last year, we could not provide as many flannel or fleece blankets due to the rising cost of cotton. Given our recent grant from TI and the success of the Barnes and Noble fund raiser, we have started buying more flannel this year and we are hopeful that our volunteers will be able to make more of the receiving blankets each month to help meet this need. We have been blessed recently with very generous donations of yarn, cotton fabric and fleece and very faithful volunteers, so we will continue to work to produce as many blankets as possible. Last year, we donated a total of 10,513 blankets (receiving, quilt, fleece, & afghans) and ideally we would like to be able to send out an average of 1000 blankets every month (12,000 for the year). We are focused on raising the funds to be able to buy the raw materials needed this year, so please keep up the great work you are doing on sewing, knitting and crocheting the blankets!
In addition to blankets, we prepare layette packages for Parkland each month which include one of our receiving blankets, a onesie or t-shirt, a hat, and a pair of socks or booties. When available, we will also include bibs or burp cloths. With these packages, ideally we want to provide 200 layette sets each month. There is a limit on space to store these in the nursery at Parkland so 200 bags is the max we generally make up. Some months, we are not able to do the full 200 bags and that is usually due to a lack of onesies/shirts or socks/booties. Given some of these are purchased items, our receipts can vary month to month depending on donations. You can help in this area by hosting a baby shower in your neighborhood, church or community group. If you need more information on how to do that, ask at a meeting or send us an email. We also have great patterns for t-shirts and booties so if you are willing to help sew these items on a regular basis, please let our meeting coordinator, Dotty Darrin, know!
Beyond these 200 layette sets, we do our best to provide extras of the shirts, hats, and socks whenever possible so they are available when needed. They especially need lots of extra hats! Parkland has told us that they could use well over 1000 hats per month if we could provide them. We have really been doing a great job on hats over the last 6 months and we donated 39% more hats in 2013 than we did the year before. This year, we would like to provide an average of 600 hats per month (more during the colder months), so keep on knitting, crocheting, sewing, and loom knitting those beautiful hats for the babies!
You may have noticed Dotty sorting and setting aside some of the clothing at our Saturday meetings. Slightly larger hats can be used by the children's cancer unit and while that is not our primary focus, we do offer them some of our hats when we are able. While the majority of babies in need are full-term babies, we have volunteers who make/buy special items for the premature and sick babies in NICU as well as making special burial clothing and memory envelopes (about 20 each month) for those babies that are lost at birth or in the early days of their lives.
Finally, we have our Christmas project for Parkland. In December, we provide special holiday bags in addition to the normal layette sets. It is our goal to include a warm sleeper or gown in each of these bags rather than a shirt. Collecting enough sleepers for the bags is a year-long project. As we enter the time of year when warm clothing is on sale, please keep your eyes out for great deals on sleepers. You can bring them to any meeting and we will store them for use next Christmas! We also plan to have a Sleepers in September drive again this year, so stay tuned!
If you are unable to make items for Parkland and wish to contribute, please consider making a cash donation for clothing, flannel or batting or doing a collection drive for onesies, sleepers, or socks through your friends, family, church or workplace. Please know that whatever way you are able to support our mission, you are needed and truly appreciated!
When we delivered the Christmas bags in December, we asked the Parkland team for feedback and their immediate response was "blankets, we can always use more blankets". While we were able to increase our donation of quilts and afghans last year, we could not provide as many flannel or fleece blankets due to the rising cost of cotton. Given our recent grant from TI and the success of the Barnes and Noble fund raiser, we have started buying more flannel this year and we are hopeful that our volunteers will be able to make more of the receiving blankets each month to help meet this need. We have been blessed recently with very generous donations of yarn, cotton fabric and fleece and very faithful volunteers, so we will continue to work to produce as many blankets as possible. Last year, we donated a total of 10,513 blankets (receiving, quilt, fleece, & afghans) and ideally we would like to be able to send out an average of 1000 blankets every month (12,000 for the year). We are focused on raising the funds to be able to buy the raw materials needed this year, so please keep up the great work you are doing on sewing, knitting and crocheting the blankets!
In addition to blankets, we prepare layette packages for Parkland each month which include one of our receiving blankets, a onesie or t-shirt, a hat, and a pair of socks or booties. When available, we will also include bibs or burp cloths. With these packages, ideally we want to provide 200 layette sets each month. There is a limit on space to store these in the nursery at Parkland so 200 bags is the max we generally make up. Some months, we are not able to do the full 200 bags and that is usually due to a lack of onesies/shirts or socks/booties. Given some of these are purchased items, our receipts can vary month to month depending on donations. You can help in this area by hosting a baby shower in your neighborhood, church or community group. If you need more information on how to do that, ask at a meeting or send us an email. We also have great patterns for t-shirts and booties so if you are willing to help sew these items on a regular basis, please let our meeting coordinator, Dotty Darrin, know!
Beyond these 200 layette sets, we do our best to provide extras of the shirts, hats, and socks whenever possible so they are available when needed. They especially need lots of extra hats! Parkland has told us that they could use well over 1000 hats per month if we could provide them. We have really been doing a great job on hats over the last 6 months and we donated 39% more hats in 2013 than we did the year before. This year, we would like to provide an average of 600 hats per month (more during the colder months), so keep on knitting, crocheting, sewing, and loom knitting those beautiful hats for the babies!
You may have noticed Dotty sorting and setting aside some of the clothing at our Saturday meetings. Slightly larger hats can be used by the children's cancer unit and while that is not our primary focus, we do offer them some of our hats when we are able. While the majority of babies in need are full-term babies, we have volunteers who make/buy special items for the premature and sick babies in NICU as well as making special burial clothing and memory envelopes (about 20 each month) for those babies that are lost at birth or in the early days of their lives.
Finally, we have our Christmas project for Parkland. In December, we provide special holiday bags in addition to the normal layette sets. It is our goal to include a warm sleeper or gown in each of these bags rather than a shirt. Collecting enough sleepers for the bags is a year-long project. As we enter the time of year when warm clothing is on sale, please keep your eyes out for great deals on sleepers. You can bring them to any meeting and we will store them for use next Christmas! We also plan to have a Sleepers in September drive again this year, so stay tuned!
If you are unable to make items for Parkland and wish to contribute, please consider making a cash donation for clothing, flannel or batting or doing a collection drive for onesies, sleepers, or socks through your friends, family, church or workplace. Please know that whatever way you are able to support our mission, you are needed and truly appreciated!
Article reprinted from February 23, 2014 Newsletter
4/21/14
Delivery Totals for March 2014
Parkland
Bib 24
Blanket, Afghan 44
Blanket, Fleece 36
Blanket, Quilt 229
Blanket, Receiving 766
Booties 100
Burp Cloth 15
Diaper Tote 1
NICU Diaper Shirt 25
Hat 444
Memory Envelope 40
Mittens 8
Onesie 230
Shirt 12
Socks, Plain 180
Sleeper 15
Sweater 6
"T" Shirt 6
Washcloth 5
Gel Pillow Cases 75
Headband 1
Parkland Total for month 2,262
Sharing Life
Blanket, Afghan 2
Blanket, Receiving
23
Full Size Quilts
2
Sharing Life Total for month 27
Nexus
Blanket, Quilt 3
Blanket, Receiving
25
Hat 1
Nexus Total for month
29
Family Place
Blanket, Quilt 4
Blanket, Receiving
28
Bottle, BPA free 6
Burp Cloth 6
Crib Sheet 1
Diaper Tote 1
Stuffed toys 14
Toiletry Item 1
Socks, Adult & children 9
Family Place total for month 70
Hope for Refugees
Gently Used Clothing
40
Shoes, Adult 1
Hope for Refugees total for month 41
GRAND TOTAL MONTH OF MARCH 2,429
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