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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Serving Others: Irene Francis, 91, works on a lap robe for a convalescent home during a 'Busy Hands/Caring Hearts' gathering at the Campbell Community Center. The group has been meeting with various members at the center for the past 20 years.
Adult center volunteers knit and crochet for needy
By Amy Jenkins
Some may consider knitting and crocheting a dying art form, but for members of the Campbell Adult Center group Busy Hands and Caring Hearts, it is a craft that is used to serve the community.
The group was started more than 20 years ago when founder Mary McConnell collected too many donated crocheted items to store in her garage, explains Kasey Witcom, supervisor at the center.
They make afghans for runaway children who sleep on park benches; the afghans are distributed by Child quest International. They donate hats and booties to local hospitals for premature babies and make lap robes and bibs for developmentally disabled adults and for people in convalescent facilities, Witcom says. Members also donate baby blankets to wherever there is a need, she says.
All funds for materials are raised by the group. Some of the yarn and knitting needles are donated by members of the community, as well. One way the group raises money is by selling afghans to the public at Campbell's Holiday Craft Fair. Last November the group sold 30 afghans and made more than $800, says group coordinator Daphney Depold, who has been a member since 1996. In order to make a large profit, the items are marked down to between $20 and $40.
For all their hard work and service, the city of San Jose presented members of the group with a plaque on Sept. 28 at the San Jose Convention Center. The group members received the award for their service as retired and senior volunteers. A total of 1,100 volunteers were honored at the annual award ceremony. Usually an individual is recognized but an exception was made to honor this group because of its many years of service, Witcom says.
Much of the time-consuming work is done at home, but the women meet the second Friday of the month at the center to socialize and get tips from friends. Ferne Jolimay, who has been a member of the group for two years and was taught to crochet by her grandmother, says of being a member, "I like the social part of coming to the group. This is the only thing I can do without thinking."
Connie Anello, 79, a 54-year Campbell resident who lives near the Pruneyard, says her favorite part of the group is giving back to the community. She likes to take the afghans to different convalescent homes and hand them out, she says. Her mother taught her how to crochet 20 years ago, and she has been in the group for eight years.
Depold is involved with two other knitting groups that give back to the community. She is a member of the auxiliary and a group called "Woollies" that is a part of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church, in Los Gatos, which she attends. Woollies is comprised of eight people who make baby blankets to give to the crisis pregnancy center, Depold says.
Most of the women in the Busy Hands and Caring Hearts group crochet, but Depold knits. Depold's explanation is that she is from England, where knitting is more common. She learned to knit in 1938, and in 1946, during World War II, she met her husband. He was an American and they moved to the United States in 1946.
Irene Wood has crocheted since the 1960s and didn't learn how to knit until she retired, she says. She learned how to crochet from a neighbor who was making a dress for her daughter, and Wood decided she wanted to learn how to make a dress for her own daughter. She lived in Phoenix at the time and now has two daughters who live in Fresno.
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Campbell, California
