Area women step up with humanitarian effort
Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008
Stake Relief Society, explained the purpose of the event.
"Each of our churches is a member of a Stake - a group of several churches - and once a year many of us in the Stake get together to work on a variety of projects," Klakring said. "Most of the things we're working on will be sent to Salt Lake City for dispersal around the world. I know the memory boxes are for the new Mercy Hospital, and some of the lap quilts are for a nursing home in Rogers. We should have 50 or 60 women working here most of the day."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides relief and development projects for humanitarian purposes in countries all over the world. Services may include emergency response to natural disasters from earthquakes and tsunamis to man-made disasters such as the effects of war and famine. Longer-term efforts may be put in place to fight disease. Projects are funded though donations, primarily from church members.
Denise Carter, Stake humanitarian specialist, said the first and third Wednesdays of each month are also devoted to working on the projects.
"We want to remember, too, that we're more interested in quality than quantity," Carter said. "For example, we want the towels in the hygiene kits to be exactly 26 inches. The memory boxes are for the mothers of miscarried or stillborn babies. Moms can store BENTONVILLE - For the third consecutive year, area women gathered at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here for a humanitarian services work day on Saturday. Hygiene kits, school bags, quilts and infant memory boxes were some of the items the women made.
Wearing a name tag that read Sister Klakring, Linnea Klakring, the president of the keepsakes in the containers. We paint the boxes blue for little boys and, of course, pink for girls."
Amy Bunch and Diane Rutherford, both of Bentonville, painted memory boxes Saturday.
"We have 12 of them to paint this morning," Bunch said. "And a group of us get together at my house twice a month to work on them and other projects. We enjoy it."
Cheramie Smith of Bentonville said she had worked on most of the projects before.
"I've painted the memory boxes and worked on the quilting and the hygiene kits," Smith said. "I'm not sure what I'll be working on today. Wherever they need the most help is where I'll be."
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