Each week, students in grades 2 through 5 sign up for clubs as part of an afterschool program. Those who have chosen sewing as their activity became involved in a special service project to create lap quilts for individuals receiving care at the center. The quilts are just the right size to fit over a wheelchair patient’s lap. The sewers begin by cutting the squares, piecing them by alternating a patterned piece of fabric with a plain square, and hand-sewing them together. The plain squares become a blank canvas for friends and families to write messages of hope and support.

A group of six representatives from the club, accompanied by their teacher, Betsy Leschinsky, delivered the finished quilts to Abramson Cancer Center at Penn. Patient Services Coordinator, Sandy Blackburn, and Director of Patient and Family Services, Margaret Lazar, graciously accepted the quilts and presented the students with Certificates of Appreciation for their efforts. Students said that it meant a lot to hear how much the patients appreciated being given a hand-sewn quilt.

Posted April 19, 2006