LWR at QALC
At QALC we are actively involved in making school and personal care kits as well as the QALCW sewing quilts and blankets for the baby layettes. Every spring and fall the men’s group helps load the trucks for shipping at a regional Ingathering. For more information contact Rich or Candy Mathes.
LWR Kit Supplies for Fall 2024 Ingathering—an Update
Thanks to all who purchased school supplies, personal care kit supplies, or donated funds to buy supplies. We had a great turnout for school supplies—there are enough supplies for both Fall ‘24 and Spring’25 LWR Ingatherings, plus for Twegashe School (CORE Tanzania)! You do not need to purchase any more school supplies this year. The metal rulers, two-hole pencil sharpeners, and scissors with protective covers will be greatly appreciated.
For the Personal Care Kits, we still need 50 bath towels and 100 bars of soap. (Our goal is 150-200 kits.)
Bath towels need to be minimum of 20″x40″ (hotel size) up to 27″x 52″. They should be dark colored—
it is hard to keep white/light towels looking clean in a refugee camp. Lightweight towels are best.
(I realize most “standard American” bath towels are plush and thick. Thick towels cost more to ship,
they take more space, they weigh more, and are harder to dry.)
Target has one towel line called “Room Essentials” that is $2.50–$3.00 per bath towel (dark gray is best); Fred Meyer can be cheaper if they have a big sale, and they have more color options.
Four-ounce bars of soap are best. Each kit must have 8–9 oz, so we send two 4-oz bars. We prefer Ivory. Yes, prices have increased a lot. Bars of soap are costing 75 cents per bar.
Most of the Personal Care Kit Supplies are purchased in bulk online. The combs, fingernail clippers and toothbrushes are then all identical, and toothbrushes are individually-wrapped. To make a cash donation to help pay for these, please write checks to “QALCW— LWR Kit Supplies.” —Rich Mathes
I Don’t Sew—How Can I Help with LWR Projects? Ideas:
1
Donations are always needed for our Baby Layettes.
Watch for 12- to18-months sized jackets for the Baby Layettes. That was the item most needed when items were last counted! Other items include T-shirts, knit pants, (Most useful sizes are 9-18 months), layette gowns, socks, diapers/pins, and blankets. Questions? Ask Jennifer Jones.
2
LWR School Supplies—Catch the Sales
Please go shopping during summer “back to school sales,” to help us create School Kits for Lutheran World Relief and for CORE Tanzania’s school.
Our goal is 75 School Kits. Each kit needs:
- Five ballpoint pens—black or blue ink. No gel pens. You can buy larger sets—we’ll re-package them in fives.
- Ruler—must be metric. Wood-with-a-metal edge; metal, or hard plastic
- Pencil Sharpener.
- Blunt Scissors
- Crayons—24-pack
- 5” Eraser
- Four 70-page spiral bound notebooks—college or wide ruled.
(So, for 75 kits, we need 300 notebooks.) - No pencils are needed at this time.
Quilting at the Church:
The Sewing and Service group has weekly Wednesday sessions at the church —please come if you are willing and able! We meet each Wednesday from 10 AM until 1 PM.
The PDQ Quilters also meet on the second Monday of each month in the evening at 5:30 PM. It is great to quilt with Pastor Kristy Daniels, and members of the Church of Steadfast Love. The tradition in this group has been to share a meal; at this time we are asking everyone to bring their own supper and we will eat together that way.
We need dark-colored cotton sheets for quilt backs (lots of tops have been made this past year) and size LARGE men’s cotton t-shirts for making diapers! Baby kits include Sweaters—12 – 24 months, Baby T – Shirts and Pants (no feet in pants). And we ALWAYS need bars of Ivory soap for the kits.
Find more opportunities to serve others:
What is Lutheran World Relief?
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is an international nonprofit organization specializing in International Development and Disaster Relief. It was headquartered in New York, but has been based in Baltimore, Maryland since 1995. LWR promotes sustainable development by helping communities increase the quality of life, engage in Fair Trade, and be better equipped to handle emergencies.
Part of LWR’s work includes responding to disasters. In the wake of the 2004 Southeast Asia Tsunami, Newsweek ranked LWR as one of the best international relief agencies, giving LWR an “A+” rating. LWR continues to receive high rankings from organizations such as the American Institute of Philanthropy, who gave LWR an A rating in 2007 through 2010, and Charity Navigator, who rated LWR the maximum four stars.
Our LWR Quilts found themselves in Beirut at the time of the explosion in 2020. Go here for more about that event.
Baby care kits and personal care kits, boxed and ready.
A beautiful fan quilt:
School kits:
Boxing everything up after worship:
