Helping the world, one square at a time

WEBUTUCK — Over at Eugene Brooks Middle School, the after-school program is learning a craft for a cause, stitch by stitch.

Lynn Mordas, owner of Dashing Star Farm in North East, is working with the North East Community Center, which runs an after-school program at Webutuck, as well as a group of knitting regulars who meet at the NorthEast-Millerton Library to bring the Knit-a-Square program to the area.

Knit-a-Square is a nonprofit organization that began in October 2008 and provides blankets for children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and extreme poverty in Africa. The organization works in association with Hotel Hopes, a charity that provides food and shelter to children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Students with the after-school program met in the middle school cafeteria after school on May 20 for the first of several Knit-a-Square sessions. Erin Jenkins, who works with the community center and runs the after-school program, said Mordas had approached her with the idea.

Eventually, the students will be creating 8-inch-by-8-inch knit wool squares. The yarn needs to be 100-percent wool, explained Mordas, because wool is flame retardant and the children the squares will be sent to often have open fires as their only source of heat. The squares will be sent to Soweto, South Africa, where they will be stitched together by members of the Soweto Comfort Club, a church group stationed there.

Mordas filled in the students as they were working on the process of creating wool, although some students were already well-informed.

“I watched ‘Dirty Jobs’ [a television program on the Discovery Channel] and they were talking about it,†student Maddie Miller explained.

The first session was really an introductory course to knitting, with members of the library helping the students get familiar with a pair of knitting needles. There will be several more meetings and Mordas said they will work to produce as many squares as they can.

“I’d like to send information about the children who made the squares to the children who will use them,†she added.

Some newcomers struggled with their needles at first, but many got in the groove once they had figured out the process. Others were old hands at knitting.

“My grandma already taught me,†said Maddie, who was busy stitching away in no time.

The after-school program meets once a week, and is separated into middle school and elementary school sections. Students can sign up for the program in the Webutuck main office, and parents can call the North East Community Center at 518-789-4259 for more information.

Dashing Star Farm is donating wool yarn toward the project, but additional knitting needles and 100-percent wool yarn are needed, as well as volunteers. Anyone interested may contact Mordas at 518-789-4576 or Jenkins at NECC. Visit knit-a-square.com for further information on the worldwide project.