Kay Grace from the Bancroft neighborhood wrote on Nextdoor:
“Hello, my 88-year-old mom, Gale, is now staying with us here in South Minneapolis. She used to be an amazing seamstress but now has dementia and cannot do very much. My sister and I are starting a project with her to make simple small cloth drawstring bags so we can fill them with travel-sized items like toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant, bodywash, little soaps, lotions, shampoo, combs, etc., including good things for people with different kinds of hair needs.
“We hope this will help people who need the items and who will enjoy the bags too, and we also know it will help our mom feel useful again. For many years she made hundreds of duffel-type bags for kids who had to leave their homes and would otherwise have used a garbage bag for their belongings. If you have any new or unopened items to donate, or can pick some up when you shop, we would gratefully accept them.
“Items can be dropped off in our front yard in a box we’ll put on a blue Adirondack chair. We’ll check and empty it each evening: 4024 14th Ave. S. House is blue, across from the condos.”
Grace, her mom and her sister started the project in the middle of February. Here’s their report on Feb. 22:
“Thanks so much for all the donations! We’ve got a few bags ready and are making lots more new bags, mostly printed cloth (not see-through). Here’s a photo.”
