Wrapped in Pennies
Near the cash register at the medical school’s food cart there is a small container. This container keeps spare change out of people’s pockets and rescues those who are a few cents short. But after a while those pennies add up and, with the help of the food cart’s manager, they become blankets for newborn babies in Haiti.
When a new mom has four clinic visits during her pregnancy and returns to the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) clinic after the baby is born for a new baby check, she receives a new baby kit that includes soap and a washcloth, a shirt and hat for the baby, cloth diapers and one of Judy Johnson’s blankets.
When Annette Larson, assistant professor in the physician assistant program, was on her six-month trip in 2004, Johnson would share in her experiences through her Web site journal.
Johnson was so impressed that she wanted to help, too. Growing up her church had always made blankets for those in need so it was a logical choice. She started saving the extra pennies from the penny jar, collecting about $2.00 a week to buy material for the blankets.
Johnson, her daughter and her mom make the flannel blankets. Each one takes about an hour to make, but even more time is put into making them just right.
“When I am looking for the flannel, I try to find the cute stuff, the fun stuff,” said Johnson, “and I try to get it on sale so I can get as many as I can out of the money I have.”
Some of medical students caught wind of Johnson’s project and in April 2005, organized a Penny War fundraiser to purchase the materials for the blankets. In the end, more than $800 had been raised, enough to purchase materials for nearly 90 blankets.
Johnson continues to make blankets for Haitian newborns and to date, has made nearly 125 blankets and 35 cloth diapers for the HHF.
“It’s fun to do, and it’s for a good cause,” she says, beaming.
return to top
|
