Latest Happenings

Busy Hands of Michiana
2023 Annual Report

The year 2023 showed us to be fully recovered from the slowed distribution years since the 2020 Pandemic. Agencies returned to take items for their clients and some new agencies discovered us. Beginning in 2022 we changed from working four days per week to three days, Monday through Wednesday. This schedule continued to work well for us. On occasion, if we struggled to keep up with an increased demand, we asked any volunteers who wished, to come in on Thursdays for additional workdays for a couple of weeks until we caught up. We did not open to agencies on those days. It allowed us to work uninterrupted by clients and phone calls. We will continue to keep the three day per week schedule with occasional extra work days when needed.

Special Projects: In March a few volunteers worked at IUSB for International Women’s Day. We joined community volunteers to sew feminine pads to be sent to women in Malawi through the “Malawi Matters” non-profit group in South Bend. Busy Hands volunteered to complete any cut-out and partially made pads that were left at the end of the workday. Busy Hands also made over 100 drawstring bags to hold several pads when they are distributed to the young women.

In June we made 100 denim tote bags for the Blue Star Mothers organization. They gave them to local veterans at their annual appreciation event.
In November, Busy Hands contacted every St. Joseph County nursing home and offered red, white, and blue lap blankets for them to give to resident veterans. 73 lap blankets were distributed on Veteran’s Day.

At the end of 2022, we received a $2,500.00 grant from the Klockow Foundation administered through Wells Fargo Philanthropies. The grant was used to purchase hex nuts that we sewed into fabric pouches to be used as weights for the weighted vests we make for autistic children. This was an incredibly helpful grant, particularly since we distributed 196 weighted vests in 2023. This was twice as many vests as given out the previous year.

New Products: We added some new items as a result of requests from agencies. For patients dealing with breast cancer, we now make mastectomy aprons. The pockets of the apron hold the drainage bulbs during the surgery recovery period. In addition, we make seatbelt pillows. A soft elongated pillow is attached to a wrap that velcroes around the seatbelt. The pillow protects the surgery site from pressure from the seatbelt.
Therapists working with infants and toddlers with severe visual impairments requested play mats with textured fabrics and crochet bobbles in bright red and yellow on black backgrounds. The high contrast allows infants and toddlers with poor vision to respond, reach and touch the textures on the mat.
The NICU unit at Memorial Hospital asked us to make small fabric hearts. The parents tuck the heart in their clothing. Then the fabric heart is put into the baby’s incubator to leave the parents’ scent with the baby when the parents aren’t in the room.

As we begin our 28th year, I continue to be amazed by all Busy Hands of Michiana has accomplished for so many years in service to our community. I wish to thank the leadership team for their dedication. These ladies are here every day. They work hard. They are committed to our mission and the quality of our work. All of our volunteers are amazing! They choose to spend their time and considerable talents to help others. Thanks also to our Board of Directors. They volunteer their time to support our efforts in so many ways. Without exception, if asked, everyone connected with Busy Hands will say “I volunteer here because I love what we do.” (And we laugh and have fun too.) I look forward to seeing what more we can accomplish in 2024.

Christine Deitchley, Director of Operations
Busy Hands of Michiana

2023 General Statistics

Items Created: 8,399
Items Distributed: 9,653
Labor Hours Donated: 17,727

Busy Hands Annual Report 2022

The year 2022 was a year of continued recovery from the effects the pandemic had on Busy Hands. During the pandemic, Occupational Therapists were not seeing clients in person and nursing homes were not bringing outside products into their buildings. Busy Hands continued to make products but since they were not going out into the community as quickly, we stockpiled products to our storage capacity. Consequently, we made the decision to reduce our hours from four days a week to three days. When distribution increases and overstock reduced, we may return to a four day schedule.

We also made the decision to discontinue the annual Sew-A-Thon event. Sew-A-Thon had been a ten-year tradition partnering with the St. Joseph County Homemakers clubs. Busy Hands prepared hundreds of projects that volunteers from Homemakers and Busy Hands sewed in a two-day marathon. With the challenge of trying to keep the Busy Hands volunteers busy, it made no sense to hold back projects and give them to outside volunteers. Sew-A-Thon was a fun, productive event we thoroughly enjoyed for ten years. But, our circumstances are changed and the event has run its course. Our thanks go to the Homemakers Clubs for their years of dedication and service on behalf of Busy Hands.

Our long-time volunteer and part of the leadership team, Calla Meagher, moved to Wyoming in April. We had a potluck luncheon to bid her farewell. We miss her talents, enthusiasm, and creativity. Wyoming is lucky to have her as she has busied herself with volunteer work in her new home as we knew she would.

In June, we gave 100 denim tote bags to the Blue Star Mothers organization. They gave them to local veterans at their annual appreciation event.

In our effort to find useful projects to work on, we began making items for the St. Joseph County Humane Society. We’ve made over 125 items such as curtains for the dog and cat cages to give them privacy and security during their stay. We’ve also made sleeping pads and litter box covers. Besides giving us work to do and another help to a worthy community agency, we were using fabrics that had been donated that we had no other planned use for.

In November we distributed over 100 red, white, and blue lap blankets to area nursing homes to give to their resident veterans on Veteran’s Day. In 2021 we received a $1,000 grant to purchase yarn for this purpose. Many volunteers working from home throughout 2022 made these lap blankets. We thank them for their talent and hard work to enable us to do this project every year.

In December we received a $2,500.00 grant from the Klockow Foundation administered through Wells Fargo Philanthropies. The grant allowed us to purchase hex nuts that we sew into fabric pouches to be used as weights for the weighted vests we make for autistic children. This should be enough to provide more than a year’s supply of weights.

2022 has had its challenges. But by the end of the year we were seeing a definite trend of agencies returning and new agencies discovering us with the help of volunteer ambassadors visiting agencies to show our products and invite them to use our services. The dedication of our 60 volunteers has not wavered and new volunteers have joined us as well. We love the work we do and all signs are good that Busy Hands of Michiana is alive and well continuing to be a force of good will for our community.

2022 General Statistics

Items created: 12,531
Items Distributed: 10,911
Labor Hours Donated: 20,306

Busy Hands Annual Report 2021

2021 marked the 25th year since Busy Hands was co-founded by Doris Gearhart and Jean Stockman. A handful of volunteers with donated yarn and a small gathering place were the humble beginnings. Their annual giveaways of hats, scarves and mittens to agencies serving those in need, has grown to become our, proudly all-volunteer organization, distributing a variety of comfort, warmth and therapeutic items through 120 agencies in 9 counties of Michiana.

The year saw us still dealing with the pandemic. During 2020, the number of agencies using our products were greatly reduced. Nursing Homes, for instance did not want to bring in any outside materials in an abundance of caution due to the pandemic. In 2021 we saw an increase in agencies returning. There was a shift in the types of items distributed. More warmth products like hats, scarves and mittens went out and fewer weighted blankets than previous years. The quantity of masks – 10,816 this year- was still very high and a direct answer to the needs of our community in 2021.

Some highlights of 2021 include the following:
Busy Hands uses a tremendous amount of plastic pellets. The pellets provide weight for weighted blankets, lap pads and many of the fidget and therapeutic items for children with autism and those dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Pellets retail at $2.00 per pound. We use about a ton of pellets each year. Our previous source donated pellets to us but could no longer do so. We struggled with how to manage to purchase pellets as our supply dwindled. We found a posting from a local storage business that had 8 Gaylords (each Gaylord holds 1,200 pounds) of pellets . When the owner learned how we use pellets, he graciously donated them to us and offered to store some of the Gaylords until we had space to put them. Our profound thanks to Terry Koehler of Blockhouse Storage for his donation to Busy Hands. This should supply our needs for a few years!

Beginning in March, Busy Hands cut out and prepared over 3,000 projects for the annual Sew-A-Thon. These projects included detailed instructions and finished samples that were distributed to 54 volunteers from St. Joseph County Extension Homemakers clubs. The usual format for the Sew-A-Thon is a 1 or 2 day gathering to sew projects. Because of the pandemic we asked volunteers to sew in their own homes over a 6 week period. 2,882 items were completed. We are grateful for the time these volunteers worked and the wonderful boost to our inventory for all they made for Busy Hands. A complete report on the Sew-A-Thon follows.

In August, River Park United Methodist Church, our benefactor, opened another room for our use. This was a tremendous help in providing additional storage. We moved the yarn display from the main work room into the new room. This gave the sewers greater working space and it is easier for those shopping for yarn as well. Shelving was added and designed to accommodate the large bins of pellets we store in the new room. The room also provides a designated place to deposit and sort donations.

We received a $1,500.00 grant from the Florence V. Carroll fund through Wells Fargo. The grant is for shelving in the new room and to purchase red, white and blue yarn for lap robes for veterans in nursing homes. We are most grateful for the grant to create a more efficient work space and to support our community projects.

Busy Hands received some media attention as we were interviewed on WSBT’s live morning show, HomeTown Living. We were able to highlight who we are and how we serve the community as well as invite agencies to contact us so that we might be able to provide our products to their clients.

In addition, Busy Hands was featured on the WSBT evening news when they learned that we were supplying face masks to area schools. Schools required students to wear masks when they opened in the fall. Busy hands contacted every school in South Bend and Mishawaka, and other areas called us requesting masks for students and staff. Not only did we initially supply masks, but every two months we call the schools to see if they need more. We made and distributed 7,000 masks to schools from August through December.

In September we began a partnership with the Christ Child Society. A few years ago we discontinued making baby items as none of our current agencies were working with clients with those needs. We learned Christ Child Society was in need of baby blankets and layettes. We posted to our volunteers that if they enjoyed making baby items, we would accept them and pass them on to Christ Child Society who would then distribute to those who needed them.

In October, the St. Joseph County Commissioners voted Busy Hands the business of the month. This award goes to a “locally owned business that has had a positive impact on the community”. We were given a plaque and another plaque hangs in the County-City Building.

In November, Busy Hands gave 500 fabric gift bags to the Blue Star Mothers of St. Joseph County. The Blue Star Mothers fill the bags with goodies and send them to troops overseas.
We also made 125 denim tote bags for patients at Walter Reed Hospital. They use them to carry needed supplies when they are going to rehab facilities, therapy and doctor sessions. Our partnership with Blue Star Mothers has been going on for more than 10 years. Senior Life Newspaper featured Busy Hands and Blue Star Mothers in their December 2021 cover article.

In December we were able to sponsor our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at Allie’s restaurant. We had to cancel last year’s luncheon because of Covid. It was so nice to get together again. The volunteers working from home rarely see other volunteers. It is impressive to see 75 people who by working together, are such a force for good in our community.

Despite the challenges of the last few years, Busy Hands has met the challenges and is going strong. We are well settled in our new home. It is hard to believe we have been here nearly two years. We have been royally welcomed and can only hope the church’s congregation is as happy with us as we are with them and their beautiful church. We hope for many years in partnership with them.

Christine Deitchley, Director

2021 Statistics:
Items Made: 18,931     
Items Distributed: 21,191     
Labor Hours Donated: 23,380  

2021 Sew-A-Thon

With continued risk from Covid 19, Sew-A-Thon’s usual format of a large group gathering was instead conducted in individual participant’s homes for a second year. Diana Kuhn, coordinator of volunteers from St. Joseph County Extension Homemakers, distributed projects to individuals and small groups to make Busy Hands’ projects. Liz, Fribley, Busy Hands Coordinator, organized the projects and worked with Diana to distribute supplies and collect finished items. Volunteers worked through the months of August and September.

Busy Hands wishes to thank Diana Kuhn and all the St. Joseph County Extension Homemakers who gave their time and talents to help Busy Hands continue to provide items of therapy and comfort to those in need in our community. We are hopeful that in 2022 we will be able to return to the traditional Sew-A-Thon gathering. We have missed the fun and camaraderie of sewing together. Thank you all! See you in 2022!

November 2021

September, 2021

This is the lovely plaque we were given by the St. Joseph County Commissioners. We are honored to have been recognized for our mission of service to the Michiana community.  The plaque will be hung in a place of honor.

August 24, 2021

Celebrating 25 years of Community Support. 
Check out the interview from WSBT Home Town Living morning show.

Click the image below to view the video.

Celebrating 25 years of Community Support

August 15, 2021

Busy Hands is making masks for local students.  Check out our story from WSBT

Click the image below to view the video

Volunteer sewing group providing masks to South Bend Schools

March 30, 2021

There’s Gold in those bins!

We would like to thank Blockhouse Storage, owner Terry Koehler and Greg Jones his representative, for the incredible donation of about 10 Gaylords of plastic pellets. We use the pellets for weighted blankets, fidget toys and other therapy products for children with autism.

Know what a Gaylord is? It is a heavy duty box 40″ x 30″ x 30″ and holds about 1,200 pounds of pellets. Busy Hands uses at least two Gaylords of pellets each year. Pellets retail for about $2.00 a pound. You do the math! Thank you isn’t a big enough word for Blockhouse Storage’s incredible generosity!

Our biggest expense is covered for some years to come. Thank you so very much!

2020 in Review

2020 was definitely a challenging year for everyone. In spite of and, because of, the challenging times, Busy Hands volunteers stepped up in a mighty way.

January and February found us downsizing and packing all our materials, yarn, notions, sewing machines and inventory in preparation for a move with a March 31 deadline. It wasn’t until mid-February that we had a glimmer of hope as to where we would be moving. River Park United Methodist Church invited us to introduce Busy Hands and its mission to their congregation. The church already operated a food pantry and Busy Hands’ community service mandate complimented the church’s mission to offer community outreach services. They had several un-used rooms that they offered to Busy Hands. River Park United Methodist Church has been most welcoming and we are delighted to have such a wonderful new home.

March and April were spent moving and organizing the new space. By early April we were in the middle of “Shelter in Place” due to the Covid Pandemic. Face masks were required of everyone but were impossible to find. Essential workers and at-risk people were desperately looking for masks to protect themselves. We called volunteers to work at home cutting and preparing kits. Once we had kits ready to go, we launched a “Sew in Place” campaign using our FaceBook format to get the word out. Once a week, volunteers stopped at the front door of Busy Hands, dropped off finished masks and picked up more kits to sew the next week. Agencies were contacted to determine their needs and hundreds of masks were delivered each week. It was an amazing accomplishment!

In late June we officially re-opened Busy Hands. A letter was sent to the agencies we serve, letting them know we were open and in our new location. Volunteers returned and clients were allowed inside to pick up products for their clients. We were careful to distance and wear masks. In the fall when Covid numbers were rising, we changed our policy. Clients called ahead to order products. We delivered the orders to their car. We asked our volunteers to self-quarantine for 10 days if they were in contact with family and friends outside of those they lived with before returning to Busy Hands. We were fortunate that none of our volunteers contracted Covid.

In July, as preparations for school began, Busy Hands introduced two sizes of children’s masks. We partnered with another community group and made masks for several South Bend schools. After completing the initial mask orders, we contacted every South Bend, Mishawaka, PHM and Parochial school and delivered the masks they needed. Busy Hands distributed more than 5,800 masks to students and staff in 34 area schools. From April 1 to December 31, Busy Hands made a total of 15,885 masks.

The annual Sew-a-Thon is usually held in September. Members of St. Joseph County Extension Homemakers Clubs sponsor the Sew-a-Thon to help Busy Hands. Busy Hands prepares hundreds of projects for volunteers to work on. Because of Covid, we could not have the traditional Sew-a-Thon. Instead, projects were distributed to individuals and small groups of Extension Homemakers to work on at home. The volunteers began sewing, stuffing and assembling in August and as they finished one project they took on another and continued working through September, finishing every project we had prepared for them. The results were better than ever. 2,867 items were completed! Although we missed the fun of working together, the Sew-a-Thon was a complete success in how helpful it was to Busy Hands.

October / November – One of our annual projects is making fabric gift bags for the Blue Star Mothers. Christmas and winter fabric prints are used for the bags. The bags are filled with snacks and personal care items and are sent by the Blue Star Mothers to our troops overseas. Busy Hands made 650 bags and also collected snack items to help Blue Star Mothers. In addition, Busy Hands made 100 denim tote bags that the Blue Star Mothers distribute to patients at Walter Reed Hospital. The bags will contain personal items for patients leaving the hospital to go to rehab facilities.

Late fall usually sees a large number of items given to local nursing homes. Our barrels of shawls and lap robes are usually empty before January. Because of Covid, nursing homes did not want to bring in any items from outside for fear of contamination. We were disappointed that we were unable to provide cheer and warmth to those residents this year.

Hats, scarves and mittens have been distributed to area agencies serving the homeless and others in need. Occupational Therapists appreciate the many weighted items and fidget toys we make for autistic children.

We have distributed thousands of items in 2020, yet distribution of many items was down from past years. The number of masks made and distributed makes the raw statistics of items made and distributed as twice the amount of previous years. While this is true, the reality is that our distribution of most of our regular high demand products was greatly reduced. Busy Hands was closed from January – June due to packing, moving, and Covid. It is understandable that distribution is decreased from other years. But, the work we did to help our community with the massive mask campaign is a point of great pride. We were able to see a community need and quickly change gears and jump in to fill the need effectively. 2020 was indeed a different year. Our business was not the usual. But what remained constant was our dedication to serve our community. And that, we certainly did! Thank you, to all who gave their time, talent and compassion to serve others through Busy Hands of Michiana.

Christine Deitchley, Director

2020 Statistics
Items made: 28,678
Items Distributed: 25,340
Labor Hours Donated: 20,861