Gratitude for the kindness of strangers

Holiday 2020 gift collection a rousing success

Emily Pitts with handmade hats, from Thorton, CO.

It’s been a bright start to the new year for Full Life Care recipients all around.

Seattle-based ElderFriends participant Frederick, received a cozy handmade quilt and blue plaid scarf via Full Life’s no-contact holiday deliveries, exclaiming, “It was very remarkable to get such valuable gifts from someone you don’t know!” Six zip codes north of Frederick, ElderFriends participant Mohammad responded with a “thank you for friendship and kindness.” And eleven miles further, Snohomish County Adult Day Health participant Maurice cherished his knitted scarf and candy cane as part of “the first gift I’ve received in a long time.”

For others, the gifts also fulfilled more tangible needs. SHA Outreach Program Manager, Timothy Stephens, set aside more handmade hats and scarves, along with donated grocery gift cards in support of a Scattered Sites resident and his children.

“All of my clients are always appreciative,” explained Foundational Community Supports’ Resource Coordinator II, Erin Schafer. “Donations have (also) gone to clients who are homeless, as well as clients who were chronically homeless but recently housed. It’s exciting and meaningful to newly housed folks to receive clothing and blankets they can now keep clean and dry. One person [who] specifically wanted a smaller, fleece blanket said, ‘This is exactly what I needed.’”

Frederick, Mohammad, Maurice, and Timothy and Erin’s clients are among more than 350 Full Life Care participants who benefited from this season’s generosity. More than 120 supporters, local and nationwide, responded to Full Life’s call to Craft for a Cause, contributing over 675 handmade hats, scarves, and blankets, and more than 750 over greeting cards. Other donated items included $2,250 in grocery gift cards, which staff case managers in Health Home, Community Transitions and other programs will continue to distribute to clients in most need of food security.

“The care that went into each item shows,” noted Raili Calvert, Registered Nurse at Snohomish County Adult Day Health Center.

We offer our deepest gratitude to each of our supporters who have uplifted our clients, including our steadfast contributors:

St. Matthew Parish
Our Lady of Fatima
University Presbyterian Church Sewing Group
Quilters Anonymous and “the Old Sew ‘n Sews”

“It’s making me teary-eyed. Such generosity,” expressed Glenda “Moe” Pocha, Program Manager of the Snohomish County Adult Day Health Center.
“It truly speaks to the kindness and generosity in the world. Where there is kindness, there is hope.”