arol Ann Harrington, member of our own Prairie View United Methodist Women's group, wrote the following article that was published in the January/February 2022 issue of the Response Magazine. Response Magazine is the official magazine of United Methodist Women with goals to educate for mission, to interpret the Purpose of United Methodist Women, and to strengthen the organization. The Response Magazine is published bimonthly by the United Methodist Women out of New York, NY with a copyright in 2022.
Offering Comfort and Protection in Iowa
by Carol Ann Harrington
The United Methodist Women at Prairie View United Methodist Church in Ollie, Iowa, engaged in a variety of sewing projects in 2020 and 2021. Prior to the pandemic, the group worked diligently making weighted blankets and weighted lap covers. In all, 234 weighted blankets found new homes, and 52 lap covers were put to use by children in the local school
district.
After the pandemic hit, the superintendent of Pekin Community Schools of Packwood, Iowa, asked the sewing group to make face masks. Masks of all sizes were designed and sewn for students in K-12, as well as for faculty and staff. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, 1,142 masks were delivered to the school.
Currently, the women are creating clothes covers (adult bibs and aprons) for residents of care facilities and residential living facilities in the area. So far, 42 of the covers, made from bath towels and other washable materials, have been given to residents.
Through these projects, the Prairie View United Methodist Women help support children and their community in rural southeast Iowa.
