The Common Thread Circle

Great news!

Since May 29, 2008, we have donated 20,435 handcrafted fabricworks to patients in Houston area hospitals. This incredible achievement says a great deal about our members. You cut, sew, stuff, knit, crochet, buy material and make patterns. You come as often as you can to help at meetings. You work at home. You are cheerful and hard-working. You know what we do matters. Thank you seems unequal to your efforts.

Testimonial

But maybe the following note we received will help you realize how very important YOU are:

I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know how much we appreciate the heart pillow we received from your organization. My mother is currently hospitalized in Katy Hermann Memorial and the pillow that was delivered to her has brought her quite a bit of comfort. She had surgery a week ago today and that was the only pillow she wanted under her head. She took a rough turn yesterday and is now in the ICU, but that pillow remains with her and is the most comfortable pillow to cradle her neck. Many thanks to all of you who volunteer to make these items. They do bring joy and comfort to patients and I’m sure that is what you all intended. God Bless you all and I hope you continue this wonderful ministry. - Melissa Smith

Thank you for letting us know, Melissa, and we hope your mother encounters some turns for the better. We’re thinking of her as she faces this difficult time.

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Great news! Starbucks has awarded us a grant of one thousand dollars to continue our efforts. What a wonderful reward for all our hard work. Thank you to Charles Peirsol, manager of our Starbucks, for his help with the application process and throughout the year. Charles, what would we do without you?

And we are planning an outing to see hand made dolls at the Opening Reception for the Texas Association of Original Doll Artists. Gwynne Ross, a member and designer of our wonderful children’s pillows, will be showing her very fine and creative handcrafted dolls including “Minstrels” (pictured). The opening will be at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft on 4848 Main Street on Thursday, August 5, from 5:30-8 p.m. We will meet at Rima Blanc’s house at 5:00 and then head to the craft center in a carpool. RSVP to Rima.

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We have two recent articles about us and some pictures for you to see below. More rewards for our dedicated ladies who are committed to helping others.

See you soon.

It’s nice to have friends in high places, or friends of friends in high places. In the latest Memorial Messenger, which is the publication of the Memorial Drive United Methodist Church (MDUMC) who is one of our sponsors, there’s a great article about the award presented to The Common Thread Circle by Houston’s mayor, Annise Parker:

MDUMC has been one of our sponsors for many years, and they have cheered us on as we’ve pushed farther to help more patients. We meet on the third Tuesday of every month in room D220 at the church, from 9:30 to noon, in addition to our regular meetings. So they’re part of our family and although the family has grown to accept other churches, a synagogue, and people not affiliated with religious organizations, we’re grateful for MDUMC and thankful to them for this nice article.

If you’re working, it’s great to have someone else notice what you’re doing and spread the word. St. Luke’s is helping us out this week with two high profile public mentions. This is high praise from not only a respected source, but people we like to work with. We’re really lucky to have such wonderful people who appreciate the real measure of our results, which is that we’re helping patients!

First, they posted pictures on Facebook of the recent Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Awards ceremony at which both St. Luke’s and The Common Thread Circle people attended. I’m not really sure what I think about this newfangled Facebook thing but the pictures are flattering. Blush with me!

Next, the St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital Auxiliary newsletter Acts & Facts included an article on The Common Thread Circle and how and why we do what we do. It’s good to feel understood, isn’t it? Their words are lighting the way for others to see that what we’re doing is an important part of patient care and well-being.

MAYOR’S VOLUNTEER HOUSTON AWARD

On Thursday, June 10, 2010, Rima Blanc, representing The Common Thread Circle, received the Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Award from Mayor Annise Parker during a luncheon at the Hilton Americas–Houston Hotel. Attending the event with Rima were Dr. Peg Van Bree, senior vice president, SLEHS and CEO, SLEH; Pam Lemp; Rima’s husband, Bob; her son and the manager of the Starbucks location that sponsors the group’s meeting every Monday afternoon.

The Common Thread Circle was originally established as a charitable arm of the United Methodist Women. Under Rima Blanc’s direction, it has become a non-sectarian group of 40 to 60 volunteers, principally, but not exclusively, women, who create comfort fabricworks for surgery patients in area hospitals. The volunteers buy and cut fabric in designs that Rima created or modified, including teddy bears, frogs, heart-shaped pillows, patient record bags and the like. Rima buys the polyfil stuffing under special arrangement with Wal-Mart and provides it to the volunteers to stuff the fabricworks at their weekly meetings at the Town & Country Starbucks, where the manager has welcomed the group as a principal charity. The group produces about 1,000 fabricworks each month; in fiscal 2009, they donated over 8,000 items. This fiscal year they expect to donate over 10,000 items to 20 hospitals, including M.D. Anderson, St. Luke’s Hospital, Memorial Hermann Hospital System, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Methodist Hospital and the Harris County Hospital District (through Ben Taub Hospital).

Rima Blanc is a force of nature who gave direction to a small activity and turned it into Houston’s leading out-of-hospital volunteer organization. She is not only artistically creative in the design and execution of the fabricworks (which meet hospital sanitary and safety standards), but in the direction of her group. The expansion of TCTC to its present state was chiefly, if not entirely, due to her leadership, willingness to donate time and money to the effort, and ability to inspire dozens of people to support that effort. She donates approximately 1,500 hours of time each year to the management of the group, selection of fabricwork designs, acquisition of materials and polyfil stuffing, transportation of materials to the working meetings, sorting and repacking of completed fabricworks, and delivery of them to the benefited hospitals.

Congratulations, Rima and The Common Thread Circle!

You can click on the version of it above to see a larger version, including a picture of me giving a teddy bear to our Mayor (who graciously accepted it). It’s easier to read the text above however. A big thank you to St. Luke’s, and a reminder that you are some of our favorite people to work with ever.

Houston, TX — Mayor Annise Parker congratulated the ten winners of this year’s Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Awards, including The Common Thread Circle, for contributing to the welfare of Houston’s citizens through volunteerism. The winners were selected from up to 400 candidates and received their awards at a luncheon on June 10 in the Ballroom of the Hotel Hilton Americas.

Rima Blanc, Director of The Common Thread Circle, accepted the award on behalf of her group of more than 60 volunteer stitchers, stuffers, and knitters. Accepting a cut glass award and listening to kudos from Jerome Gray, newscast anchor with KPRC-2 television, Rima stood with Mayor Parker and gave her a stuffed bear as a memento of the occasion.

Mr. Gray, along with hosts Melanie Lawson of KTRK and Greg Hurst of KHOU, noted that Rima had donated over 1,500 hours of volunteer time and led a group that met seven times monthly and produced over 10,000 fabricwork items in the last year for patients in more than 20 Houston-area hospitals. Photos of Rima with some of the grateful patients highlighted the large-screen pictorials.

Mr. Gray also acknowledged the contributions of Starbucks Town & Country as host of the Monday working meetings.

It’s the peak of summer. Many of you are visiting nice cold places like Norway, Canada, Missouri, Maine and Colorado. We envy you. But in the meantime, those of us staying here are enjoying getting together to make patients’ lives easier in Houston area hospitals.

Since the May Newsletter, we have donated fabricworks to:

• Ben Taub
• M. D. Anderson
• Memorial Hermann
• Methodist Sugar Land
• St. Luke’s Sugar Land
• St. Luke’s
• Children’s Memorial Hermann
• Texas Childrens
• St. Luke’s Woodland
• Katy Memorial Hermann
• Southwest Memorial Hermann
• Shriners Hospital

Join us for the following meetings.

Each fabricwork we make is a gift to a patient and comfort in a dark time. You have joined us here, whether as a volunteer or a reader, to help us in gifting patients with this hope.

Last year, Common Thread made and donated 12,000 handcrafted fabricworks to Houston area hospitals. Over the last two years, we have donated 17,157 items! This is an incredible achievement of our growing, talented group.

Since our last newsletter, we have donated to: Memorial Hermann, Harris County, Katy Memorial Hermann, M. D. Anderson, St. Luke’s, Children’s Memorial Hermann, Methodist, Shriners, and Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospitals. Our new year is beginning in style.

We will be meeting every Monday (including Memorial Day weekend) at the Starbucks Town and Country from 2-4 p.m.

In addition, we will be meeting at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church on June 15 at 9:30 a.m. in Room D220 and Spring Branch Presbyterian Church on June 30 at 9:30 a.m. We have had to cancel the meeting on June 10 at Kendall Branch Library of the knit/crochet group because of the Volunteer Houston Award that Common Thread is accepting that day.

There can be no higher praise than hearing that our work benefits others. Every testimonial, every happy patient, and every time we meet with hospital staffs we learn that patients and professionals alike are singing the praises of what we do. What we do is friendship, it is fellowship, it is work and it is joy.

Thank you for your part in making this possible.

Dear Common Threaders,

You are an incredible group of giving and caring individuals. You have made a difference in the lives of many, many patients this year. You’ve done it all because you share a vision of helping people while having fun.

And what a year we have had! Come and hear more about what we have done together. Come and be appreciated. And of course, there will be treats. You’ve earned them.

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Don’t forget we meet every Monday afternoon at Starbucks Town and Country (Memorial at Sam Houston Tollway) from 2-4 p.m. for stuffing, chatter and coffee.

Our mailbox offered a testimonial from someone who appreciates our work. She’s a living reminder that there are two sides to The Common Thread Circle: we have fun sewing together, but we’re there to help people. You can’t have one without the other. It’s like having your cake and eating it too, or at least having cake without calories.

Thank you so much for the heart shaped breast cancer pillow that I received at Mays Clinic MDA. Since I am still tender from my surgery I use it in the automobile under my seat belt. Riding to radiation daily requires a lot of miles of riding. Keep up the good work with your pillow ministry. I sew. My husband and I live in a rural area in Mississippi. I am already trying to think of a sewing ministry of my own after I recuperate. Thanks for inspiring me.

Elaine Dawson
Liberty, MS

And another truly lovely note:

Dear Common Thread Circle,

As I entered Methodist Hospital Monday, April 5 for day surgery, what a pleasant surprise greeted my arrival! Many thanks for the special soft heart pillow which brightened my spirit and aided my healing.

I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Cheryl Levy
Houston, TX

This is why we do it. We want to comfort people like Elaine and Cheryl and guide them toward health. With your hard work, collaboration and friendship, we’re making it possible every hour of every day!

Our friendly neighborhood newspaper, the Memorial Examiner, is spreading the word of The Common Thread Circle. In their recent editions, they have included us in their community bulletin board section. The text is a note asking people to come sew with us at the Kendall Branch Library, where we’ve got a new sewing circle for people who want more sewing, friendship and helping others!

THE COMMON THREAD CIRCLE
2-4 PM every second Thursday of the month, starting April 8
Kendall Neighborhood Library and Community Center
609 N. Eldridge
713-893-8604

The Common Thread Circle makes comforting fabricworks for patients in Houston area hospitals. Come knit and crochet with us. Instructions and patterns available. Meet new people and make new friends while helping people in need. Call 713-893-8604 for more information or visit our website at thecommonthreadcircle.org.

If you haven’t attended yet, come visit. The Kendall Neighborhood Library and Community Center is just down the street and we’d be glad to welcome you.

Our efforts are being appreciated by more than the patients, nurses, doctors, and hospitals.

The folks at Volunteer Houston have selected Common Thread Circle as one of the recipients of the 2010 Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Awards. How very exciting for our group!

Stay tuned to find out more as we learn more. We’re thankful to St. Luke’s Hospital for nominating us, and to Charles Peirsol and Starbucks for supporting us in the very big way they do. And none of this would have happened without you, our volunteers.

Hospitals

Since our last newsletter, we have donated handcrafted fabricworks to the following hospitals:

• M. D. Anderson
• St. Luke’s
• Methodist
• Texas Children’s
• Memorial Hermann
• Memorial City Memorial Hermann
• Harris County Hospital System
• Children’s Memorial Hermann
• Katy Memorial Hermann
• Sugarland Memorial Hermann
• St. Luke’s Woodlands
• Shriners Hospitals

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Meetings for you to note on your busy calendars:

We’re a busy group. But no matter how high the numbers go, or how many awards we get, what keeps me going is the good that we’re doing. Look at what showed up in our mailbox:

April 4, 2010

I have witnessed how much the pillows Common Thread makes mean to the patients. I am spending quite a lot of time with a terminally ill patient at The Vosswood and when a church member (actually a Pastor) delivered her pillow to her she grabbed hold of it and wrapped her arms around it — and hasn’t let it get far from her ever since.

We also have another member at The Vosswood and I can’t help but see that her pillow stays close to her all the time. The pillows seem to be security blankets for the patients… and how wonderful that is when your life is controlled by the sterile world around you!

- H.H.
Spring Branch Presbyterian Church