VFW Post delivers warmth and comfort

On Saturday, Nov. 11, Master Sgt. Sara Luna and 11 community and VFW volunteers gathered at VFW Post 414 to load their vehicles and fulfill their mission: deliver 73 colorful, handmade chenille blankets to Stony Brook Veterans Administration Home residents, who received them with grateful hands.

What began as an informal, recreational activity for members of the 106th Reserve Wing Air National Guard at Gabreski Airport, soon became a goal to make, and distribute, blankets to VA residents for Veterans Day after Luna realized there was a way to connect this relaxing work to a need for some special people.

A lifetime member of the Center Moriches VFW, she pitched the idea of recruiting additional participants whom she could teach to make something warm for ex-servicemembers.  With a $500 donation from CM VFW, and subsidized with an additional $1,520 contribution from Helping Makes U Happy, she was able to purchase enough yarn to make the first 50 hand-knit and crocheted chunky blankets, each worth $60 to $120, if purchased from commercial establishments.

To find volunteers for her project, she enlisted community support through Facebook posts, outreach to Center Moriches Middle School, and local Girl Scout groups.  Once she’d assembled her groups, and after some easy lessons, the project was underway by early October.

She employed different strategies to help each age group achieve maximum success. For children, there was a finger-loop method. Adults could learn hook method fundamentals or use crochet techniques. Neither is difficult to learn, which allows everyone involved to make a finished blanket in one session.

Eighth graders in Ms. Voelger’s Consumer Science classes earned volunteer hours when they participated in two classes held at the Center Moriches Middle School for teachers, students, and Student Council members, producing another 15 blankets.  By early November, 50 volunteers had created 73 blankets.

Luna emphasized the inner satisfaction that comes with using our hands to produce something tangible.  There is immediate gratification when one is able to complete a finished blanket in one three-hour session.  And, there are therapeutic benefits as well.

Using both hands improves balance. The repetitive motion of knitting and crocheting is soothing and helps relieve anxiety and stress.  She noted that Rescue Wing leaders statewide were encouraged to promote it as an aid to combat PTSD and support mental health.

The initial success of the local program has her anticipating the start of a new tradition: a plan for more community participation, more classes, and more blankets for next Veterans Day.

One need only listen to her daughter, Kristin, to sense the pleasure this program brings to all concerned. 

“We went to visit at OASIS and talked with veterans.  I love that we can give back to them,” she said. “We need to remember what they do for us, whether active, deployed, or retired.”

And for VA Home residents for whom visits are few, and remembrance infrequent, the sight of these blanket-bearing angels was welcome, indeed.

For more information about this program contact Center Moriches VFW Post 414 at (631) 878-4908.