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RateTheir Loving Stitches Provide Comfort To Soldiers
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| Beverly Connelly (left) and Carol Laux (right) create quilts for soliders and veterans at the Stamford Veterans Club as Brandon and Kaitlin Watson helped out last week. |
By Rosie Cunningham
STAMFORD - If the village of Stamford were a body, the Stamford Auxiliary would be the heart. The auxiliary works relentlessly and selflessly behind the scenes, taking part in countless projects to benefit others.
Long-time Stamford residents Carol Laux and Beverly Connelly “stitched away” diligently to create a beautiful, handmade quilt at the Stamford American Legion Auxiliary Unit last week. The two women, who worked with two young helpers, Brandon and Kaitlin Watson, said this is the second summer of making quilts. The quilts will be sent to injured veterans all over the world.
The program is the Landstuhl Hospital Care Project (LHCP) “Stitches of Love.” LHCP provides comfort and relief items for military members who become sick, injured or wounded from service in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Donated items are distributed to military patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, or are sent to field hospitals learned of from patient liaisons.
Many of the military personnel who are wounded require long hospitalization and rehabilitation. The purpose of LHCP's program is to enhance the morale and welfare of the wounded by contributing quality of life items such as sweaters, pajamas, socks and coats. Combat Support Hospitals also receive items such as sheets, blankets, pillows and towels. Each shipment Landstuhl Hospital Care Project sends is sent in honor of a military member who has made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his or her life in service to our country.
Laux, a founding member of the auxiliary, which originated 18 years ago in Stamford, said she received a message from founder of the project, Karen Grimord, and it prompted her to get started.
“We’ve made 65 quilts over the last two summers,” Laux said.
She said there’s a need for more quilters. She and Connelly meet each Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the auxiliary to quilt and during the winter when the building is not heated, they continue the task at home. At times, volunteers such as Terry Hait, Elaine Ucci and Katie Bedford lend a hand too.
Laux said the cause is worthwhile.
“I think when a man is injured and sent back from Iraq or Afghanistan by helicopter, the helicopter is supplied with these quilts. The guy or girl may be in shock and these quilts can provide a touch of home for them,” Laux said.
For Connelly, who comes from a military family, the project hits home and Laux believes because the men and women are serving the United States “we should support them as much as possible.”
“I got started with this project through Carol,” Connelly said. “My father was in the first world war, my brothers in Vietnam and other family members have gone to Germany. I’d send small things to my brothers in the service. It meant a lot to them and some people don’t have that.”
“Right now you can’t muster up too much support other than from family members and even then sometimes not,” Laux said. “I feel I owe them (soldiers) something.”
The ladies follow specific guidelines in making the quilts according to size and the materials used.
Laux said although the duo receives aid from individuals such a Nancy Lanni, who used to own a fabric store and provides fabric free-of-charge and other businesses who provide discounts, they still need help and additional funding and/or donations.
“We could use sewers, fabrics, threads and money towards postage,” Laux said. “We would also like names and addresses from servicemen from this area because we’re having a hard time getting names ourselves. We’re trying to start a new program for children to write letters and send cookies to soldiers from the area.”
Shipping the quilts to men and women in the service is only one of the many projects and events the auxiliary participates in.
The auxiliary marches fin the Memorial and Flag Day parades and disperses poppies. The money from the poppies goes to the Albany Veterans Administration (VA) or the Oxford Home, which is a state nursing home for veterans. In April, the Stamford Auxiliary holds a silver tea for cancer survivors in the area, sends one or two female students to Girls State each, give two $250 scholarships to a student from Jefferson Central School and a student of Stamford Central School and each November, a craft fair is held which raises funds to for the scholarships and Girls State.
This past Sunday, a quilt was raffled at the Stamford Golf Course to support scholarships for children whose father or mother was killed or injured in the service. However, the drawing for the winner of the quilt will not be held until Sept. 11.
Both Laux and Connelly are proud to be part of the effort to support the veterans and will continue their efforts as will the rest of the auxiliary which began with 12 members nearly two decades ago and now has 62.
“I am going to keep making these quilts until the men and women serving come home,” Laux said.
To inquire about organizing a drive or fundraiser or for more information about how you can help, contact Karen Grimord at LHCP.President@yahoo.com or Maria, LHCP.secretary@yahoo.com.
Long-time Stamford residents Carol Laux and Beverly Connelly “stitched away” diligently to create a beautiful, handmade quilt at the Stamford American Legion Auxiliary Unit last week. The two women, who worked with two young helpers, Brandon and Kaitlin Watson, said this is the second summer of making quilts. The quilts will be sent to injured veterans all over the world.
The program is the Landstuhl Hospital Care Project (LHCP) “Stitches of Love.” LHCP provides comfort and relief items for military members who become sick, injured or wounded from service in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Donated items are distributed to military patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, or are sent to field hospitals learned of from patient liaisons.
Many of the military personnel who are wounded require long hospitalization and rehabilitation. The purpose of LHCP's program is to enhance the morale and welfare of the wounded by contributing quality of life items such as sweaters, pajamas, socks and coats. Combat Support Hospitals also receive items such as sheets, blankets, pillows and towels. Each shipment Landstuhl Hospital Care Project sends is sent in honor of a military member who has made the ultimate sacrifice and lost his or her life in service to our country.
Laux, a founding member of the auxiliary, which originated 18 years ago in Stamford, said she received a message from founder of the project, Karen Grimord, and it prompted her to get started.
“We’ve made 65 quilts over the last two summers,” Laux said.
She said there’s a need for more quilters. She and Connelly meet each Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the auxiliary to quilt and during the winter when the building is not heated, they continue the task at home. At times, volunteers such as Terry Hait, Elaine Ucci and Katie Bedford lend a hand too.
Laux said the cause is worthwhile.
“I think when a man is injured and sent back from Iraq or Afghanistan by helicopter, the helicopter is supplied with these quilts. The guy or girl may be in shock and these quilts can provide a touch of home for them,” Laux said.
For Connelly, who comes from a military family, the project hits home and Laux believes because the men and women are serving the United States “we should support them as much as possible.”
“I got started with this project through Carol,” Connelly said. “My father was in the first world war, my brothers in Vietnam and other family members have gone to Germany. I’d send small things to my brothers in the service. It meant a lot to them and some people don’t have that.”
“Right now you can’t muster up too much support other than from family members and even then sometimes not,” Laux said. “I feel I owe them (soldiers) something.”
The ladies follow specific guidelines in making the quilts according to size and the materials used.
Laux said although the duo receives aid from individuals such a Nancy Lanni, who used to own a fabric store and provides fabric free-of-charge and other businesses who provide discounts, they still need help and additional funding and/or donations.
“We could use sewers, fabrics, threads and money towards postage,” Laux said. “We would also like names and addresses from servicemen from this area because we’re having a hard time getting names ourselves. We’re trying to start a new program for children to write letters and send cookies to soldiers from the area.”
Shipping the quilts to men and women in the service is only one of the many projects and events the auxiliary participates in.
The auxiliary marches fin the Memorial and Flag Day parades and disperses poppies. The money from the poppies goes to the Albany Veterans Administration (VA) or the Oxford Home, which is a state nursing home for veterans. In April, the Stamford Auxiliary holds a silver tea for cancer survivors in the area, sends one or two female students to Girls State each, give two $250 scholarships to a student from Jefferson Central School and a student of Stamford Central School and each November, a craft fair is held which raises funds to for the scholarships and Girls State.
This past Sunday, a quilt was raffled at the Stamford Golf Course to support scholarships for children whose father or mother was killed or injured in the service. However, the drawing for the winner of the quilt will not be held until Sept. 11.
Both Laux and Connelly are proud to be part of the effort to support the veterans and will continue their efforts as will the rest of the auxiliary which began with 12 members nearly two decades ago and now has 62.
“I am going to keep making these quilts until the men and women serving come home,” Laux said.
To inquire about organizing a drive or fundraiser or for more information about how you can help, contact Karen Grimord at LHCP.President@yahoo.com or Maria, LHCP.secretary@yahoo.com.
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