Board

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BOARD NEWS

Our TLL Board deserves recognition for their willingness

to serve. Thank you to Jan Kiikka, Chairperson; Nancy

Coho, Vice Chair; Linda Grandstaff, Secretary; Sally

Bricker, Treasurer; & Trustees Robin Hughes, Laurel

Grubbs, Kim Varker, Jill Hawse, and Carol Tolliver. Also

thank you to Katrina Durst, our Infant Loss Coordinator,

who manages and packs all our infant loss and memorial

items and deliveries. You are appreciated for everything

you do behind the scenes to help the day-to-day

operations run smoothly.

A special thank you to Robin Hughes and Carol Tolliver.

Robin has been compiling our delivery reports for us and

is now “passing the torch” to Carol who will begin doing

our reports starting in 2020. Thank you to both for your

willingness to help out in this area.

TLL has had a wonderful year of serving Ohio babies.

We have made over 530 deliveries and delivered

approximately 66,000 items. This is a grand total of over

1.2 million items in the almost 20 years of our existence.

Thank you to all our many volunteers in Ohio and

elsewhere. We have increased our deliveries by 15,000

items over what was sent out in 2018! We continue to

reach more and more families and children and couldn’t

do it without all of you! Whether you make one or two

items each month, help us with deliveries, buy your own

yarn or fabric, pack deliveries at Sal’s house or contribute

monetarily – we need ALL of you. No contribution or

donation is too small to make a difference in the lives of

“our babies”.

The Board has voted to continue to use a portion of TLL

funds to purchase used clothing in 2020. This year we’ve

purchased around 5,000 pieces of clothing at an average

cost of 30 cents apiece. We believe this is a good

investment and supports our mission to serve needy

newborns in Ohio. .

CONDOLENCES

Our condolences to the families of Martha Wilk, Theresa

Ritzman and Joyce Carpenter. These ladies put in many

hours of time using their skills to make things for “our

babies

hours using their skills to make items for “our babies” and

will be missed.

BUCKEYE BABY PROJECT

This has been a banner year for our

Buckeye Baby project. Our volunteers

made 130 OSU quilts along with a variety

of other OSU themed items. We provided 40 quilts to

OSU Hospital along with 10 layettes which were given to

parents after their baby “graduated” from the NICU. The

remainder were provided to other hospitals and clinics.

Thank you to everyone for their efforts and Go Bucks!

TOUCHING MORE LIVES 2019

Our Touching More Lives 2019 campaign was a huge

Success. Our goal was to collect 2,019 pieces of used

clothing from our volunteers by the end of the year. We

have met and surpassed that goal with 2,338 pieces of

clothing turned in! We also received donations from

several organizations such as Joseph's Coat and

Columbus Mothers of Twins. In addition, TLL purchased

5,858 pieces of clothing from our budget. By the end of

the year, we were able to distribute over 11,000 pieces of

used clothing! Not only were we able to provide this

clothing to different facilities including health centers,

women's shelters, WIC offices, Pregnancy Decision

Health centers, but also to mom's who contacted us to ask

for help. In just the last three months of the year, we were

able to provide newborn through 12 month clothing for

six moms who needed help. Thanks to your donations,

we were able to provide for these “needy newborns” and

their families.

TOUCHING LITTLE LIVES NEWSLETTER

First Quarter January – March 2020

Editor : Linda Marshall

One organization that has been particularly grateful for all

this used clothing is MOMS2B. This is a facility we

highlighted at the beginning of 2019. Their mission is to

combat infant mortality rates in the communities where it

is highest. In October 2019, we sent out 22 bags of used

clothing to them including over 230 coats/jackets and 78

sweaters along with larger sized hats and other items.

This was over

800 items in all!

Providing

clothing is just

one of their

services and

TLL is pleased

to be able to

support them in

this way.

We recently received this “success story” from

M0MS2B…”I just wanted to say that I will be forever

grateful for MOMS2B.

It has been 7 years now

since you all have made

an impact on my life.

All is well. My

daughter that you and

the MOMS2B helped

nurture will be turning 7

in October. I have been

working for the

Prosecutor’s office and

will soon be finishing

my Associate and

Bachelors from

Franklin University.

You all were my support, my everything at a time when I

needed it and I will always hold that close to my heart.

Peace and Blessing to you all. Thank you”. Kateresa L.

THIS AND THAT

The nurses in the

Labor & Delivery

department of

Mount Carmel East

have baby fever.

We learned recently

that 13 nurses in the

same department

were pregnant at the

same time. We

thought it would be

fun to send them

quilts for their babies so this quilt and 12 others were

delivered to them in November. Congratulation to all and

thank you for taking care of “our” babies

*****

Sally is in need of a substitute delivery person for

February for Our Lady of Guadalupe, 409 Industry Drive,

Columbus OH (3-4 bags). If you are able to help out,

please email Sally at info@touchinglittlelives.org or

message me. Please include your phone number so

that she can discuss the details with you. Thank you

*****

Below are the upcoming work days at Sally's house. We

work from 10am – 2pm with lunch provided. If you're

interested in coming to help, please email Sally at

info@touchinglittlelives.org. We delivered over 1400

bags of baby items in 2019, so we need all the help we

can get.

Jan 20th & 21st

Feb 17th & 18th

Mar 23 & 24th

*****

We distributed over 200 Christmas quilts this year in

November and December. Thanks to all of our quilters

and finishers for making this possible.

*****

Our next TLL-a-thon is scheduled for Saturday, June 27th

from 10am – 4pm. This will also be our 20th anniversary

celebration so please mark it on your calendars now so

you won't miss this special event. More information to

come in our next newsletter.

*****

Please continue to collect the following items:

Box tops for education and pop tabs for the Kiwanis

Buttons for our sweater makers

“Bling” (old jewelry, brooches, necklaces, pins, etc) for the Turban Project to adorn the turbans

they provide for their patients.

Print cartridges (any kind) for us to recycle at Staples

Please bag these items separately from your other

donations.

*****

Thank you to everyone who has responded to our “Needs

& Announcements” emails each month. We've had a

great response. It has really helped us ensure we always

have what we need every month. Of course our needs

mailto:info@touchinglittlelives.org

change from month to month depending on what

deliveries we make and how many facilities we are

delivering to that month. We will continue to send out

this email and post it on Facebook near the end of the

month. A special thank you to Newborns in Need who

sent us 60 hats in the mail when they heard we had run

out in November. Thank you for sharing!

QUALITY CONTROL TIPS Quilts:

We wanted to make you aware of some of the issues we've

had recently with items we've received. One problem that

has cropped up is that the seams in quilt tops are ripping,

either when we sandwich the quilt or after they are

washed. We would like to share a couple of tips to help

prevent this from happening. When you are sewing your

seams, it is not necessary to trim your end threads

completely as they will be cut off when the quilt is

sandwiched. Another thing that will help is to use a big

enough seam allowance so that they will not come open

when they are washed. It

is harder to fix these issues

after the quilt is assembled

and often we have to set

aside these quilts to be

fixed later, if possible.

If you tie your quilts, please

make sure that the ties are

spaced about 6-8” apart and

that the tie goes through all

layers of the fabric. Please

double knot the ties and trim them to about 1/2”. When

sewing tags onto quilt tops, please attach them at least 4-

6” away from the edges so there is room to sew and top

stitch the quilt without having to sew over the tag.

Afghans:

Afghan size and type of yarn used is important.

Newborn sizes: 36” by 36” or 30” by 30” are the sizes

we need most. You can use baby yarn or worsted weight

and any pattern is fine. Afghans that are a little bit larger

than this are okay as we can give them to facilities that

server older children.

Preemie sizes: 24” by 24” to 30” by 30” is the size we

need. You can use baby yarn or worsted weight and any

pattern is fine as long as it is not too “holey”.

Burial & memorial sizes: 12” by 12”, 16” by 16” or 20

by 20” ONLY. Yarn MUST be baby yarn either a pastel

color (except yellow) or a muted variegated color. Use

only one color on the afghan. Please remember these are

going to parents who have lost their babies so bright

colors and/or patterns are not appropriate and cannot be

used. If you have any questions regarding this or other

burial/memorial items, please contact Katrina at

sign.katrina@yahoo.com

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

THANK YOU MISS LYNNE

If you've been following TLL on Facebook, you know

that we have received three huge yarn donations this fall.

A great big thank you goes out to Miss Lynne who has

generously given us all this yarn! Over the years, Lynne

has stocked up on yarn to the point where she can't

possibly use it all and was looking to “de-stash”. Some

friends of hers reached out to us and have helped Lynne

sort through her yarn and then deliver it to TLL. To date,

we have received over 75 boxes of yarn! Because of her

generosity, we've been able to share the yarn with The

Turban Project, Newborns in Need, My Very Own

Blanket and some ladies who make blankets for the

homeless. Miss Lynne has a very kind heart and has been

making things for the needy, especially children, for

many, many years. Even though she can't use all this yarn

herself, we're making sure to continue her legacy of

helping those in need. Thank you Lynne for helping us

“serve the babies of Ohio” now and in the future.

Sally had a chance to meet Lynne (and Shiloh) back in

October.

This is just one of

the boxes and

boxes of yarn from

Lynne

Our volunteers are working hard to use up “Lynne's yarn”

and making some gorgeous afghans.

In November we received a $6000 grant from South

Central Power Electric to help us with the cost of buying

flannel to make receiving blankets, bibs and burp cloths.

This money will cover about 80% of the cost of flannel

fabric for the entire year. Thank you South Central for

your generous support again this year!

Thank you to The Energy Cooperative “Operation

Round Up” Foundation for their grant of $2500 that was

received in December. This will help us purchase the

fabric for quilt backings.

Thank you to the Moose Lodge for their continued

support this past year by donating a portion of their

gaming fund to TLL. We received $7452 from them in

2019.

Keep on shopping at Krogers’ and designating TLL as

your charity of choice! In 2019, we received $926 as

part of their Kroger Cares program.

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS

I am grateful that I am a member of this awesome group

of wonderful people. Thank you for hand delivering

items to my nephew’s new grandbaby. Her mom just

turned 19 and needs all the help and support she can get!

I and they will be forever indebted. God Bless you all!

Nancy P.

Thanks a bunch.

LaTonya really likes her

new stuff. Thank you so

much for you hard work.

I would like to thank everyone infinite love that made

these cute clothes. Today

we received these

donations for our newborn

daughter Mia Valentina.

I'm happy that these kinds

of foundations exist to help

families just as we need

because we are migrants

and we have no resources.

(Translated from Spanish)

(Note: We were able to

provide additional used

clothing for her daughter

Mia and her 18 month old son as well. Here is an

additional thank you we received)

Hello I am writing to

thank you again. This

help you have given to

my family, my little

Adrian is very happy

with his new clothes

and baby Mia too. I also

want to thank Mrs. Kim

and her children

brought the donations to

my house. God bless the

home of each of the

people who are part of

this beautiful work.

I wish that those who donated saw how cute my kids are

now so I sent some photographs. Thank you again

Once again, we like to donate to TLL in memory of our

grandsons, Aiden and Jayce W. We appreciate the work

you do to comfort the parents especially. Thank you and

have blessed holiday season. Chris & Ed

Hi Sal, here is the

picture of my

niece Kelsie with

baby Kyler and

his TLL quilt.

Kyler’s daddy

played football in

college so they

love the football

I want to thank you so much for the crocheted blankets. I

am a Social Worker for Centering Pregnancy at TriHealth

Nurse Midwives with Good Samaritan Hospital. I

facilitate Centering pregnancy groups for at risk moms.

Centering is an evidence based program that shows that

pregnant moms that participate have a 33% less chance of

a preterm birth. Sometimes it is difficult to have patient’s

even show up to their appointments, so I used the

crocheted blankets as an incentive to complete an activity

and have perfect attendance for the first 4 sessions. Thank

you again, I cannot say enough how appreciative we are

for the care taken in making these. I know I will be seeing

them again and again covering car seats as they ride and

wait for the bus in the cold weather.

To everyone who gave of their time and talents for our

baby girl, thank you. Your craftsmanship is beautiful and

we are so grateful for your generosity and love.

Isabelle Grace (Belle, as she is known since her big

brother first said her name months ago) was born on

August 27 at Wright-Patterson Medical Center. We

moved from overseas this summer and as of her birth had

not yet received our last shipment, and we still have not

unpacked the last box. The gift from your organization

has touched our hearts and made us feel even more

welcome here in our new home. I am including some

photos I took of Belle in the sweet crocheted cap and

booties you gave us. Thank you. Kristin, Cameron and

Isabelle

Thank you for the

blankets and other

gifts! This is my 6

week old foster son

“John” He was born at

SOMC.

(Note: Since “John” is

a foster child, we

purposely are not

showing his face.)

I just wanted to send a little note, thanking you all for the

blanket we received at FMC. We love it and we use it for

so many different things! Thank you all! It was such a

pleasant surprise when the nurse brought it to us!

Thank you for your previous donation of blankets for our

special care nursery babies! We are extremely grateful

for such a generous donation to our patients. These

blankets were given to our hospitalized infants in the

special care nursery. Genesis is the largest healthcare

provider in six southeast Ohio counties, so these blankets

reached a great deal of patients all over the state! Thank

you again for donating these blankets to our smallest

patients! Angela B., Genesis Women and Children

Healthcare Services, Zanesville

Thank you very much for your donation of quilts,

sleepers, washcloths and toys to the UC Medical Center

NICU. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Thank

you for supporting the babies and families in our unit.

Anne M., University of Cincinnati Medical Center

Thank you so

much for the

donations!

We are

grateful for

your ongoing

support to

PDHC and the

women in our

communities.

Keep up the

amazing job!

Pregnancy

Decision Health Care North staff and volunteers.

I just wanted to send you another

picture and say thank you

again. It's been a year or 2 since I

updated but my son will be 4 in

January and he still carries the

blanket he received at the hospital

when he was born. God bless you

all, Tammy S.

Just wanted to tell you

thanks so much For

Aiden’s Blanket we

received at southern

Ohio Medical Center!

Thank you

guys for the

handmade

gifts for

Anthony!

Amy, Aaron

and Anthony

On behalf of Turning Point, I would like to thank you for

your donation. Thank you for helping us meet the needs

of the individuals and families we serve. We deeply

appreciate your generous donation of baby layettes. Help

such as yours makes it possible for Turning Point to

successfully address the needs of victims of domestic

violence.

WORKGROUP MEETING SCHEDULES

Chillicothe -4th Saturday of each month (10-2) Adena

Hospital, Tecumseh Room.

Columbus –MOOSE- 2nd. Thursday of each month (10-

1) Moose Lodge 1245 at 220 Main St. Groveport, OH

Columbus – COOL 3rd. Tuesday of each month (6-8) at

the Church of Our Lady, 5225 Refugee Rd. Columbus,

OH

Grove City – 3rd. Friday of each month (10-2) at the

United Methodist Church 2684 Columbus St. Grove City,

OH

Delaware- 1st. Friday of each month (9:30-11) at Willow

Brook at Delaware Run, 100 Delaware Crossing.

Westerville- 3rd. Saturday of each month (12-2) at the

Heritage Christian Church, 7413 Maxtown Rd. Room 102

Westerville, OH

Meeting changes or cancellations:

Meeting cancellations: Grove City, Jan & Feb. no

meeting

*********************************************

Touching Little Lives, Inc.

4882 Bixby Ridge Dr. E. Groveport, OH 43125

614-653-3352

Email: info@touchinglittlelives.org

www.touchinglittlelives.org

mailto:info@touchinglittlelives.orghttp://www.touchinglittlelives.org/