Our philanthropy efforts assist local organizations through hands-on projects and contributions.
Helping the Homeless
In 2021 and 2022 Kansas City Athenaeum members sewed KC Community Bags for The Sewing Labs in their partnership with Volunteer KC who printed canvas fabric with emergency resources for homeless individuals. One side of the bag has a Kansas City street map, and the other side lists the locations for assistance resources. Our two-year involvement produced 260 bags for the project's distribution.
Meeting Truman Medical Center Needs
Kansas City Athenaeum members have been knitting and crocheting to fill requested needs at University Health Truman Medical Center. More than 1,200 infant hats have been donated since January 2021. Members have also knitted and crocheted booties, thumbless mittens, and baby blankets. This ongoing project contributes toward the newborn care needs at the hospital. Other ongoing projects include sewing 88 totes and 17 infusion pump bags for the cancer center, plus 535 eyeglass cases for the eye clinic.
Sweet Dreams for Seniors
For the second year, Kansas City Athenaeum members volunteered in 2021 to support the Sweet Dreams for Seniors Pillowcase Project at The Sewing Labs. Our members completed 144 pillowcases sewn from fabric provided by The Sewing Labs. The pillowcases were delivered to local senior centers with each resident receiving one made from holiday fabric and the other from everyday fabric. The Sewing Labs rallied local volunteers to fulfill the goal of delivering 800 pillowcases by Christmas.
The Benefits of Teamwork
Kansas City Athenaeum members worked diligently in 2021 to fulfill community needs. Yards and yards of fleece were generously provided by The Sewing Labs for this project that produced more 435 fleece hats sewn by our members as home projects. These hats, along with 162 fleece scarves, were donated to Amethyst Place, Missouri Girls Town, Operation Breakthrough, Scraps KC, True Light Family Resource Center, Veterans Community Project, and the Clothes Closet at Central Presbyterian Church. Learning about our distribution plan, The Sewing Labs contributed 200 additional sets of fleece hats and scarves sewn the previous winter in a volunteer project where our members also participated. Left over fleece pieces were used to make 40 gift bags for a project at Amethyst Place where children could select jewelry to give to their mothers for Christmas 2021. The jewelry was donated by our members and friends.