Catholic Community Hospice volunteer Jane Kreiter, along with Bonnie Krause, Director  of Volunteers, proudly display the  100^th and 101^st afghans  she has made for our hospice patients!

  

Jane learned to knit when she was 16 years old.  She taught herself to crochet when she was in her 20's, making afghans for family and friends. When her parents moved to the VA nursing home in Marshalltown, IA, her Mom asked if she would make lap afghans for her.  Her Mom would pass them out to people she felt needed their day brightened by a little act of kindness.

Jane's Mom passed away in 2011, which put an end to her lap afghan making.  A couple years later, she attended an informational fair in Overland Park for seniors and stopped by the Catholic Community Hospice booth. She asked if they had any use for lap afghans. She was put in touch with Bonnie and began making lap afghans for hospice patients in 2013. When she ran out of her stash of yarn, Bonnie started supplying her with yarn that had been donated to TurnStyles thrift store.   

"It's a labor of love as I combine odds and ends of yarn to make colorful lap afghans for hospice," Jane says. "As I work on each afghan I say prayers for the recipient and their family, and hope they enjoy the afghans as much as I enjoy making them. My plan is to continue to make lap afghans for hospice as long as my hands and the yarn supply last. This is truly a wonderful ministry."  

If you have any yarn you'd like to donate for afghans, please drop it off at Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas' administrative office: 9720 West 87^th Street, Overland Park.

The skies threatened rain but that didn't stop golfers from teeing it up at the 35th Annual Ben and Betty Zarda Family Golf Classic benefiting Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.  

Despite two previous rainouts, the tournament was held August 1, 2016 at the Lake Quivira Country Club.  

More than 150 golfers, volunteers and supporters joined in this day of fellowship and fun that raised nearly $140,000 to support the programs and services of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.  

In addition to hitting the links, non-golfers participated in the second annual wine cruise around beautiful Lake Quivira before joining the event's dinner reception.

Proceeds from the event support families and individuals in need of basics like food, rent, utility assistance and more throughout our 21 county service area.  Monies from this year's fund-a-need will purchase a refrigerated truck to be used to safely transport produce and dairy to Catholic Charities' nine food pantries.

Mark your calendars and join us for next year's Golf Classic on Monday, May 15, 2017.

As summer draws to a close and kids head back to school, many of them will be donning new backpacks loaded with all of the supplies necessary to begin the school year thanks to some generous supporters.  

Kylie Hays, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church (in Shawnee) parishioner, reached out to her church community to help children served by our Foster Grandparent Program. Together, the congregation collected 167 brand new backpacks filled with school supplies applicable to each grade level.  In addition, they accumulated over $1,000 worth of bulk classroom supplies including tissues, wipes, hand sanitizer and more. 

I n Leavenworth , another generous donor stepped forward pledging a $1,000 match for school supplies if the community could collectively raise $1,000.  The challenge was accepted and won! As result, more than $2,000 worth of supplies for area children in grades kindergarten through high school were distributed.

Additionally, Nate Lichte, with the help of his colleagues at Townsend Communications, provided numerous backpacks and supplies to be distributed to our rural neighbors via the Catholic Charities Mobile Resource bus.  

As you can imagine, the new backpacks filled with notebooks, glue sticks and other items brought much joy to the students.  These supplies, however, brought much relief to their parents who may be struggling to provide even the basics including food, clothing and shelter for their families.

At Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, we are truly blessed to have the support of many for the people we serve.