Jordyn Gourley, 4, of Robins powers a sewing machine as Brenda Cummer helps her sew a pillowcase in the pediatric unit of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. (David Scrivner/SourceMedia Group)
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For the past four years, yards of colorful fabric have been sewn together by volunteers to help provide soft pillowcases to the rooms of children battling cancer in over 250 hospitals across the United States.
Organized through a non-profit organization called ConKerr Cancer, over 125 chapters involved with the initiative are hoping to create 44,000 pillowcases as a way of recognizing National Childhood Cancer Awareness month throughout September .
?The hope is to give some color to the kids? rooms and bring a smile to their faces,? ConKerr Cancer founder Cindy Kerr, 54, of Philadelphia, said. ?I used to make pillowcases for my son when he was in the hospital, too.?
Kerr?s son, Ryan, was 12-years-old when he was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that mostly happens in children between the ages of 12 and 17. Kerr then began to make pillowcases to liven up Ryan?s room at the Children?s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Ryan passed away from Osteosarcoma? at the age of 17 after bouts with treatment and multiple relapses. Kerr says she then decided that continuing to make pillowcases and creating ConKerr Cancer would be a worthwhile cause.
?In 2008 the organization won the grand prize in a Martha Stewart Living ?Dreamers into Doers? contest,? Kerr said. ?The response was immediate. We?ve grown into 125 chapters, including one in Iowa. Since then, our goal is to get a ?no white pillowcases? policy going in children?s rooms.?
Currently on a cross-country road trip to see the where the pillowcases are distributed, Kerr stopped by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to meet with Iowa ConKerr Coordinator Brenda Cummer and to sew pillowcases with children on Tuesday afternoon.
?I love to sew, love kids and my family has been impacted by cancer,? Cummer 42, of Waverly, said. ?Iowa needed a coordinator for the program and now we help provide pillowcases to the UIHC, Blank Children?s Hospital in Des Moines and Ronald McDonald houses across the state.?
Bree Bigelow, 13, of Bettendorf was taught how to sew during the afternoon by Kerr and Cummer and contributed two new pillowcases for other children that are also battling cancer.
?It was my first time sewing, but it was easy and fun,? Bigelow said. ?I?ve been staying here for a month and it was nice to have something to make.?
New volunteers of all ages and sewing abilities are needed to help sew pillowcases this month, according to Cummer. She said children as young as three-years-old have helped make pillowcases. Kerr says that adults of all ages and sewing abilities are welcome to volunteer, as well.
?Some people may refer to this as a way to cope with tragedy,? Kerr said. ?But I don?t really see it that way. It does keep Ryan?s light alive, but it?s also about helping others.?
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For more information on how to help, click here. Donations, including sewing materials, may also be mailed:
ConKerr Cancer
295 East Swedesford Road #396
Wayne, PA 19087
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Source: http://thegazette.com/2011/09/13/woman-hopes-to-have-44000-pillowcases-made-for-kids-with-cancer/
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