After discontinuing our work with the Baltimore VA Center since last December, HSFL is proud to announce a new heart pillow initiative.
HSFL has partnered with the VA in the past through their Masks for Heroes program where the Baltimore VA provided materials including pre-cut fabric and elastics for volunteers to make masks. In total, HSFL has donated 4387 homemade masks with 1000+ masks using the materials provided by the VA.
This month, our team was inspired to support the veterans and seniors of the Veterans Affairs Center. Previously, HSFL contributed to the urgent need for PPE or Personal Protective Equipment and focused all our time on helping front line workers including nurses and doctors. However, as the pandemic slowed down, HSFL shifted focus to the patients and people who were impacted by the novel coronavirus.
The entire team is extremely excited to begin volunteering with the VA again and is grateful for the opportunity to donate. It also provides a new volunteering activity for many students
who have been making, cutting, or tracing similar designs for the past year.
Recently, our managers and parent volunteers have been tampering around with the best heart pillow design so that it is simple to sew
together for volunteers. We have also considered which size is most appropriate for the pillows and have received feedback from Ms. Susan Kern, Volunteer Program Manager from the Baltimore VA.
Another important aspect to consider is material costs. At the moment, we are hoping to receive some materials from the VA again to maximize our output without straining our financial burden. Otherwise, our team may have to increase our fundraising initiatives to supply our volunteers with materials. In particular, buying fiber or cotton to stuff the pillows will be costly.
We are currently looking for the cheapest supply options at stores online including Walmart, Target, and CVS. The best option thus far has been fiber fill from Walmart that estimates around five dollars which has stuff seven heart pillows. Without exterior aid, we may have to request that volunteers participating in the heart pillow project buy their own fiber stuffing.
Our team has also recently expanded in size and there are far more younger students (elementary and middle school volunteers). As a result, HSFL is thinking of expanding to create more volunteer activities that do not include sewing like writing letters of appreciation for veterans. In this manner, younger students can participate, receive SSL hours, and most importantly give thanks to those who have provided for our community.
All in all, we are so excited to begin volunteering and donating new heart pillows or letters to the veterans of the VA. Soon, we will have additional information on the specific instructions we will be using, material costs, and if we require students to purchase their own fiber or not.
Written by Allison Moon
April 24th, 2021