Winter weather may bring the cold to our area but it also brings out the human warmth in work being done at the Community Center.

Talking about a number of current service projects, center director Jane Good was quick to point out that the ideas for the projects came from members of the various groups, not from center management.

“Not a month goes by that a member of the center doesn’t tell us that their group is working on a new project to benefit someone in the area.”

She cited the fiber arts groups as key examples. Knitters, crocheters and the sewing group have provided hats and mittens for the free clothing closet, quilts for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital and pads for the animal shelter.  

Red hats are crocheted and knitted for babies under the Heart Association’s “Little Hats, Big Hearts” initiative. Twiddlemuffs, which are knitted muffs for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, are made for patients at Safe Havens.

Interest from the community in these classes has prompted more groups to form, including an evening knitting class for people who work during the day. It meets on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30.

“We take care of each other and that’s the true meaning of community,” said Good, who is delighted that the center has provided a springboard for the groups to send their service projects around the area.

Occasionally, the Just Sew group turns its attention to making a quilt for a friend or neighbor facing a long stay in a hospital or rehabilitation facility. And the group will soon have its first graduates from a new program offering sewing classes to area school students.

In addition to the items that continue to be donated to hospitals and shelters, the fiber arts workers also provide items for sale at the center’s boutique and the Fall Foliage Festival to help the center with its expenses.

Not all service projects under way at the center involve fiber arts.  Cricut greeting cards are being made for residents at St. Andrews Safe Havens facility.

The center’s “little red wagon” is used as a place to bring items for various charitable programs. A new project is supported every 60 days.

This past November and December, the wagon was used for the Area Agencies on Aging “Coats for Seniors” program and collected about 60 coats. Not only did the program help seniors needing winter coats, it also provided fuel assistance for older people through a generous agreement with LL Bean.

The recipient of January’s and February’s wagon donations is the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. In March and April, Shriner’s Hospital will receive the benefit of the sale of all tin can pull tabs donated at the center.  

With all of the activity at the center, a little more help was needed and Jen Field has joined as the secretary, helping out Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Good thinks of the service projects as part of a larger picture. She quoted her father telling her, “If you finally find a place you can call home, you can’t just take from the community, you have to give back.”

“That’s what we do here,” Good explained. “We take care of people every day but we also give back to the community.”