RSVP Project Warm-Up distributes over 9,000 pieces of handmade accessories to the greater Spokane community to help low-income and homeless people stay warm this winter. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.
Every year, RSVP Project Warm-Up distributes handmade hats, scarves, blankets, and other accessories out into the greater Spokane County community to help keep low-income and homeless families warm throughout the cold winter months. We rely on a network of recipient agencies, partner organizations, and - of course - our dedicated volunteers to make this happen.
It's a massive undertaking involving nearly 100 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers putting in thousands of hours of work throughout the year to knit, crochet, quilt, and sew all of the items you see in the pictures above. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic certainly imposed some new challenges - we couldn't distribute yarn to our volunteers due to our office being closed, and we had to find a new distribution venue - but these challenges weren't enough to stop us, our volunteers, or our partners.
Our volunteers produced a total of 9,273 items, including:
1,220 infant hats, 3,072 youth hats, and 2,410 adult hats
919 scarves
78 infant blankets, 258 lap robes, and 81 large blankets
600 wash cloths
635 other accessories, including slippers, mittens, baby items, and more
We have so many people to thank for making this possible!
Our sorting and distribution venue
Thank you to West Central Community Center for making a space available to us when our usual venue fell through this year, and for renting the space at a generous discount
Our volunteers
Thank you to the 94 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers who put in hours knitting, crocheting, quilting, etc. to produce all these beautiful items
Thank you to YMCA staff members Aleisha Colvin and Katy Zemke for helping load all the items into the truck, along with Katy's children Madelyn and Jonathan.
Thank you to the volunteers who helped with sorting and bagging items for distribution:
Lisa Lee from the Avista Foundation
Advisory Council members Larry Abernathy and Richard Craven
AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer Donna Borden-Rhodes
Bette, Diane, Carol, and the other members of the Cheney volunteer group
Teryl McDonald from the Childbirth and Parenting Assistance (CAPA) program
Sabrina Johnson and her intern Emily from Carlyle Apartments
Thank you to AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer Susan Stratman for picking up and delivering the lunches on sorting day
Our donors
Thank you to the Avista Foundation for the generous $2000 grant last year that enabled us to purchase 1000+ skeins of new yarn for our volunteers
Thank you to the Safeway on Northwest Boulevard for donating 16 bagged lunches for sorting day, and thank you to YMCA staff member Carrie Clanton for facilitating this donation
Thank you to Peggie Troutt from Calvary Baptist Church for your monetary donation
Our recipient agencies
Agnes Kehoe Place Apartments
Alexandria's House and Aston-Bleck Apartments
All Saints Lutheran Church
Born Babies (the Jackson family)
Buder Haven, Donna Hansen Haven, Father Bach Haven, Jacklin Haven, Pope Francis Haven, Schweitzer Haven, and Sisters Haven
C.O.P.S. Northwest
Calvary Baptist Church soup kitchen and Isabella House
CAPA
Carlyle Apartments
Cathedral Plaza Apartments
Cheney Outreach Center
Delaney Apartments
Fahy Apartments
Frontier Behavioral Health
Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels
Mead Early Learning Center (ELC) at Creekside Elementary
Mead ELC at NEWESD 101
Milestones Ministries
Mission Community Outreach Center
New Hope Resource Center
New Horizon Care Centers - Parent Child Assistance Program (PCAP)
Parson's Apartments
Phoenix House Transitional Housing
Pioneer Human Services - Pathway House
SNAP
Summit View, Bernadette Place, Courtview, and Sharon Lord apartments
The Women's Hearth
YWCA - Counseling Center, Spokane Safe Shelter, and Women's Opportunity Center
YWCA Early Childhood Education and Assistance Programs (ECEAP) - Downtown Part-Day, Downton Full-Day, Medical Lake, West Plains Part-Day, West Plains Full-Day