The multi-purpose room of the Hope Borbas Okemos Library is home to a charitable cause during the summer Wednesday afternoons.
Once a week, area preteens and teens come out to the library from 1-3 p.m. to participate in The Quilt Project. These quilts, however, are not for the children who make them, but for sick infants visiting the Lansing area for medical treatment. The library donates every quilt made to the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan.
"We have to be grateful for what we have and give to those less fortunate," said Okemos Head Librarian Joan Smith. "Some (people) from the Ronald McDonald House have tremendous need."
The Ronald McDonald House is a place for families to stay while their children are seeking treatment at the nearby hospitals and doctors' offices. Family stays can range from one overnight visit to months at a time.
"When we give one of (the blankets) to a family and see their reaction, they are so touched," said Rebecca Reagan, the Ronald McDonald House executive director. "That may be the only blanket that baby has."
This is the third year the library has made quilts for the house, and each year the quilters and the volunteers who helped them, hand-deliver their work to the house. About 10 to 12 quilters show up weekly, accounting for nearly 15 to 20 quilts donated.
"It means more (for the quilters) to tour the facility and see the house," Smith said. "It gives them a better idea of what people are really dealing with there."
All quilts are infant size, 36 square inches, and have patterns all personalized by the young quilters, who are allowed to choose their own pattern and sign their name on the back if they chose.
"It takes an eye to see how it goes together," Okemos High School junior Daryl Lederle said. "Sometimes I just don't have the patience for it."
Lederle has stuck with quilting this summer and made two quilts for the infants.
Besides quilting for those less fortunate, this project also brings area children into the library for reading.
Before each quilting session, one of the librarians carts in several books that might interest preteens and teens and gives a review. The cart is left in the room for the quilters to check out if they like.
"(The project) is centered around trying to keep kids reading during the summer," Jean Harrison said, a quilting volunteer and Holt resident. Harrison, a member of the Capitol City Quilt Guild, said the project also is simply "kids making quilts for kids."
The Quilt Project ends Aug. 11.
