Local Quilters Stitch Up Care Bags For Barrhead Healthcare Centre Patients
Sometimes it’s the smallest comforts that make the biggest difference. At the Barrhead Healthcare Centre, patients occasionally arrive without access to basic personal items like a toothbrush, comb, or pair of socks. Recognizing this gap, Auxiliary members stepped up with compassion—and a little creativity.
From An Idea To Impact
The Patient Care Bag Project began with a simple idea: offer basic hygiene and comfort products to patients who need them most. When the idea was brought forward to the Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxiliary, two longtime volunteers—Diane Wierenga and Shirley Blum—took it to heart. Together, they turned a thoughtful concept into a hands-on community initiative.
Auxiliary Members And Friends Stitch Up Care For Patients In Need
A Day at the Sewing Machine
Diane, an avid quilter, knew exactly who to call. She shared the idea with her local sewing circle, and soon a Patient Care Bag Sewing Bee was in full swing. The group gathered at Homestead Fabric and Quilting, where owner Lynn Hintz generously donated use of the classroom space for the day.
With fabric donated by the group and a room full of sewing talent, five dedicated quilters stitched up 30 handmade drawstring bags, each designed to hold essential care items. Their skill and generosity turned fabric and thread into something much more: dignity, comfort, and kindness for patients in vulnerable moments.
Volunteers hard at work sewing Patient Care Bags at Homestead Quilting. Each bag was handmade with donated fabric.
Precision and teamwork: quilting volunteers cutting and assembling fabric for 30 drawstring care bags.
Auxiliary member Shirley Blum fills a handmade drawstring bag with donated personal care items.
The makers behind the magic—local quilters who brought the Patient Care Bag Project to life.
Meet the Makers
A heartfelt thank-you goes out to these wonderful local quilters, who gave their time, materials, and love to the project:
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Diane Wierenga
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Shirley Van Beek
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Hilda Fisher
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Carolyne Aarsen
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Joanne Nanninga
Special thanks as well to Lynn Hintz of Homestead Quilting for supporting this project and helping bring the community together.
Inside Homestead Quilting: shelves of vibrant cotton fabrics surround the cutting table.
Exterior of Homestead Quilting, the generous local business that donated space for the sewing bee.
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