This Eclectic Life » Share A Square

Share A Square Afghan Project “Morphing” Into A Different Project?

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:51:37 +0000

I’ve had several folks asking me lately if we were going to continue making afghans for children with cancer. Some of you may be aware that there was a project going on here called Share A Square. For over a year, folks from all over the world sent crocheted squares to my house, so we could make 140 afghans for children who would attend Camp Sanguinity Summer Camp (associated with Cooks Children’s Medical Center).

I’ve been working trying to transfer all of the pictures that I took of the squares to my Flickr site, and if you’d like to browse them, just click the badge below.

www.flickr.com

We delivered those afghans in July, and that day was one of the most awe inspiring days I’ve ever experienced. By using the internet, so many lives were touched. Not just for the kids who received the afghans, but the people who got the opportunity to give. It just leaves me speechless to think about it.

It also leaves me speechless to see how many squares I still have! I’m busily putting them into afghans for the children who were too sick or too young to attend the camp (but I’ve got the help of several of my volunteers as I go…thank you, ladies). I’ve got 27 here ready to deliver, and I’ve been working on three different ones this week (danged ADD).

Y’all, continuing the program is something I would dearly love to do, but there are two reasons that it isn’t likely. First, if the Good Lord is willing, many of the campers who attend Camp Sanguinity next summer will be repeat business (which means that they already have an afghan). Second, I just can’t coordinate it. I’ve got to really work. I’ve been whining about the effect of the economy on the storytelling business, but it is picking up slightly. It’s going to require a lot more of my time to make that happen, because I’m having to actively search for the work for the first time in years.

I’m also pretty crazy right now trying to downsize and de-clutter our life. To keep myself motivated, I’m sporadically blogging about the de-cluttering and organization tips I’m learning on another site called Out of Chaos. When I say that “I’m dragging my husband kicking and screaming every step of the way,” I mean it. But, simplifying our lifestyle isn’t easy for me either! We are both packrats, and it’s hard to change our habits.

If I am really downsizing, then I can hardly justify devoting a room of my house to afghans. Share A Square took a whole room and then some!

But, some other thoughts are swirling in my head. I’m considering getting some help making “medicine bags.” I’m talking about bags of a size that could be used as a necklace (that wouldn’t take a whole room, would it?). Into each bag, I’m thinking of putting three good luck tokens from anyone who wants to donate (no one would donate more than three items). Three is a “magic number” in the folktales that I tell, so that seems appropriate.

What kind of “good luck tokens?” In my medicine bag, I have a St. Christopher medal, a “lucky coin,” a tiny origami crane, a very small shark’s tooth and many other things. Maybe, I could have people write a note to go with their tokens? I’m just “thinking out loud” here. If you have any thoughts, please pass them on. I learned the first time around that input from lots of different people is helpful.

I’ll think about it some more, and by the time I get those closets painted, I’ll have an idea of what I want to do. Tell me what you think, and check back next week.

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Afterglow

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:21:58 +0000

I’m still giddy.

I can’t show you many of the pictures, because I can’t show recognizable faces of the children. You can see them on my Flickr page (if you will tell me to “friend” you), or tell me to send you a “guest pass.” Seeing the pictures is good but being there was awesome!

Yesterday’s delivery of afghans to the children at Camp Sanguinity was one of the most spectacular days of my life. It ranks right up there with giving birth, getting married, and winning the lottery (though I can only speculate about that one).

Sherry gave a darned good re-cap of what we did (except, my sister’s name is “Renice” not “Bernice,” Sherry…I know it’s an odd name, and it’s a long story). Sherry’s experience was much like mine, so I won’t tell it again; you can read it at her “house.” There was one difference: my poor husband loaded the twenty-three boxes on the trailer in the early morning. I didn’t have to do any work, but I suffered with him as ropes broke, and tie-downs didn’t work properly. Thank you, Sweet Spousal Unit for all you did. Marcia knew how much that was without even being here.

I will tell you this: as we delivered the afghans, we were not told which children had cancer and which children were siblings. Sometimes you could tell, but more often not. They were all just kids being carefree. They were all beautiful!

Again, this past year has been amazing.

It would NOT have happened without the help of ALL of the wonderful volunteers.

I was blessed to be the “catalyst.” And, I was blessed to find all of the kind-hearted people who made this happen.

I appreciate you, and I’m proud to have “met” you all.

Don’t be strangers, y’hear?

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The Share A Square project has ended, and the afghans were delivered on July 7th, 2008. Although we will not continue that project, an exciting NEW endeavor, called the Good Medicine Project is in progress for summer camp 2009. We hope you will join us.]

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Post tags: Camp Sanguinity, Give From The Heart, kids with cancer, Share A Square

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Special Delivery

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:10:46 +0000

Yes, I cried.

We delivered afghans today. There was my sister Renice and my friend Rebecca. Behind them, it’s me, Sherry, her daughter Amanda,and my husband Eric (who wasn’t in the picture).

But, he was having a good time, because I let him ride the golf cart with the cute volunteer. Hmmm. Does he look like he’s having too much fun to you?

And we gave out 140 afghans to children with cancer and to their siblings at Camp Sanguinity. They were delighted!

Every moment this last year was worth it.

I came home to find a comment on my blog from a parent, and I’m putting it here in its entirety, because you might not find it otherwise:

God Bless You!
I stood in front of Cook Children’s yesterday and watched as both of my boys (Tyler 10 & Ryder climbed on buses to head to Camp Sanguinity for a week. Tyler was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Sept 5, 2007. After 8 months of stress, emotional upheaval and a lot of praying Tyler is in remission and In Maintenance for 3 years. I am at home in an empty house this week wondering what they are doing. I know today they will be smiling and thinking how wonderful people are to do such AWESOME things for them and other kids fighting cancer. I can’t wait to see their afghans and bags! You and all the other ladies that took time to make these beautiful squares are a blessing! This afghans are something that they can treasure their whole lives to commemorate their trip to Camp!
Its the little personal things that people do for us that put such smiles on our faces and hope in our hearts! I only hope to pay it forward in the future! Also a Thank You to everyone that donated money to help send a child to camp. As a parent and care giver it means so much…hospital bills come in the mail everyday and prescriptions are needed every month…even with insurance it gets hard. So being able to send my children to camp without having to worry about where to get the money is such a blessing! My kids get a chance to be a 10 year old boy without cancer for a week and a 8 year old boy without a brother who has cancer! You will never know how much that means to them or us as parents! I will sit and worry, wonder and miss my boys terribly this week but to be honest the caregivers need a break at times too! At least I know they are in the best care possible and that angels will be delivering very special gifts to them this week!
Have a Wonderful Week and Bless You!
Tyler’s carepage
http://www.carepages.com page name: tylerrossjones
All Our Love
Ann Marie Jones
Proud Mom of a cancer fighter and his Awesome brother!

Ann Marie, it was a blessing to us to be allowed to give. Thank you for your kind words, and best wishes to you and both your boys.

I’m crying now, because I have to put the pictures from Camp Sanguinity on a Flickr page that is protected. We can’t show you pictures of children’s faces on a public blog.

If you want to see it, and have a Flickr account, you have to be my “friend” to see them. Setting up an account is free, and only takes a couple of minutes. Get the account, then go to my page and make a friend request. If you don’t want an account, I think I can e-mail you a “guest pass” to see the set, so leave me a comment with your e-mail address. I have only put two pictures up on the set so far, but I’ll finish it out in the next few days. Sherry will have pictures, too, so you can contact her (she has an awesome camera and photographic skills!). I can’t put up more pictures tonight, because I’m exhausted.

It’s a good kind of exhausted.

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Post tags: Camp Sanguinity, Give From The Heart, kids with cancer, Share A Square

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Anticipation

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:30:46 +0000

Isn’t anticipation delicious sometimes?

You know what I mean. You can remember it. Perhaps it was the night before a first date with someone who made your heart go pitter-pat. Maybe it was as you awaited the birth of your child. Maybe it was while you planned for your dream vacation.

I’m experiencing something like those nights long ago when I was a child. I have the thrill of the eve before Santa Claus visited. I have the antsy, can’t sit still, heart thumping thrill of wonder. Monday is a day I’ve waited for all year. It’s a day that will be a gift for me, as we give to others.

On Monday, several of us are going to drive to a summer camp for children (it’s called Camp Sanguinity) to deliver 140 afghans made by volunteers from around the world. The children who will receive them either have cancer, or have a sibling with cancer. You can see those afghans on my Flickr page. Though the photographs aren’t exceptional, every afghan is. Every afghan is filled with love. Scroll through the entries at Share A Square to see some of the squares up close.

More than 400 people around the globe participated. Only five of us get to see the children as we give the afghans. I wish there could be many more of us. I wish that everyone who helped could be there, but you will all be with us “in spirit.”

I want to show you one of the bags that was in a package I got from Barbara this weekend. She collected bags to give to the children, so that they can preserve the name tags that are on their afghan squares (each child will have at least 48 tags from the different people who participated). I opened the box and squealed like a girl as I held each bag in my hand. This is only one of the bags. I hope Barbara will come in here and tell us who made it!:

You see the lovely crochet? But, that isn’t all! Open the bag and there is a box covered with needlepoint:

Isn’t that beautiful? But, that isn’t all!!! Open the box and there is more needlepoint!

Do you see why I weep with joy and anticipation?

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Post tags: Camp Sanguinity, Give From The Heart, kids with cancer, Share A Square

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The End Is Near For Share A Square

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 11:16:23 +0000

I’m so excited!
I’m hopping around like popcorn in a pan.

Last Friday, I visited at Cook Children’s Medical Center to finalize the plans for the delivery of afghans to Camp Sanguinity. While I was at it, I delivered a cashier’s check for $1229.47 – money that was donated by my wonderful readers. The camp director was tickled pink.

This has been a pretty amazing year. Volunteers from around the globe have been working to make afghans for children with cancer. Each afghan has 48 different squares from different people (with name tags showing who they are and where they live). My Flickr Badge on the sidebar will take you to the gallery so you can see them all. Thanks to Sherry and Barbara, each child will also get a “medicine bag” to hold the tags so they can remember their new friends.

AT LAST!

Delivery will be Monday, July 7th!

I had hoped we would be able to visit on Sunday, and perhaps I’d have some more volunteers to help deliver. But, that’s the day the kids arrive at the camp, and there is just too much activity going on that day. We wouldn’t be able to give them out until 9 p.m. That’s just too late at night! Those children would be exhausted by that time, and to be honest with you I “turn into a pumpkin” long before midnight! Not only that, we would have to drive home on country back roads!

I think I’ve been lost out that way before, and I don’t want to do it again!

So, on Monday, after the campers eat lunch, they will go back to their cabins to rest. At that time, we will visit the cabins and give each child an afghan. I imagine that those of us delivering will split up to visit the cabins. I don’t know what that is going to do to my ability to take pictures. I don’t know how many pictures the camp will allow me to take, anyway.

I’ll keep you posted with more when it happens.

Seeing the faces of those children will be wonderful!

Getting these boxes out of my garage will be quite delightful, too!

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Post tags: Camp Sanguinity, Give From The Heart, kids with cancer, Share A Square

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I Knew That People Had Big Hearts

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:20:49 +0000

Just a few days ago, these three afghans graced the porch of my friend Connie, in Gladewater, Texas. Now, they are in a box on their way to me. An afghan from Jenny McB. is in the mail, too. And, Sherry has one she will deliver in person when we meet (which will be soon, I hope).

When those afghans are in my hands, there will be 140 afghans for Camp Sanguinity. It’s been an entire year in the making.

We will deliver them on either Sunday, July 6th or on Monday, July 7th (I’m meeting with the camp director next Friday and will know more). If you have been a part of the project (in any way) and would like to help deliver them, please let me know. It can be arranged!

That day is going to be astonishing.

I’ll take what pictures I am allowed to take, but because of privacy issues I may not be able to show you many faces. It will be hard to translate the thrill of giving these away.

More afghans are being made for the children who are too young to attend the camp or whose cancer is too advanced for them to be able to attend. These children will know that hundreds of people stopped what they were doing long enough to care. I have many more afghan kits, if you still want to be a part of the project.

The people who have contributed to this project over the last year have given of their hearts. They have worked tirelessly to make granny afghan squares to be stitched into these beautiful blankets of love. Time after time, these volunteers have thanked me for letting them be a part of the project.

That’s the part that astounds me. That’s the part that makes me break out the box of Kleenex. I knew that people had big hearts.

© Shelly for This Eclectic Life, 2008. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Camp Sanguinity, Give From The Heart, kids with cancer, Share A Square

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Share A Square Anniversary

Shelly Kneupper Tucker — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:14:22 +0000

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”
~Kahlil Gibran

A one year anniversary is around the corner.

I’m talking about the Share A Square project, of course.

It’s been an exciting year of watching as people gave of themselves; gave generously from their hearts. At times, the work has been overwhelming, occasionally it has been frustrating, but always it has been rewarding. Even now, I hold afghan squares that have come from all over the world and am filled with awe and gratitude.

We are “almost home.”

On June 14th, 2007, I first posted about a dream I wanted to fulfill. I posted searching for people with big hearts. I wanted to make 140 afghans for children with cancer and blood disorders. Those children will attend a summer camp called Camp Sanguinity in just a few short weeks. My plan was that each afghan would have 48 squares from 48 different people, and I was hoping that the idea would catch on with a few people.

I didn’t have a clue!

Over the past year, more than 10,000 squares have poured into my mailbox. In the Afghan Gallery, you can see pictures of 133 afghans that are packaged and ready to go. I have three more here at the house. There are 15 in the process of being put together by the wonderful volunteers for the program (extra afghans will be given to children who are too young, or too sick, to attend the camp).

I’ve had help from people who are bloggers, and many people who are not. The stories behind some of the squares, and some of the letters I have received, are amazing. When I sit with folks and tell them the tales, I have to take a box of Kleenex because I don’t think there has ever been a dry-eyed listener at the end of the saga.

I get all teary-eyed just thinking about it. The outpouring of love has been amazing.

Thank you. Just…thank you.

I’ll be telling you more in the next few days. I’d show you “purdy pitchers,” but my camera is broken. My blog seems to be having some problems, too. It might be “broken” for all I know. Let me get those issues resolved, and I’ll be back.

© for This Eclectic Life, 2008. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Camp Sanguinity, Give From The Heart, kids with cancer, Share A Square

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