Olivia Bruntmyer checks out handmade stuffed toy donations given to Aviva by the Quail Creek Needlework Club.
Jane Gold and Carolyn Good
On Jan. 14 Olivia Bruntmyer, engagement coordinator for Aviva Children’s Services, spoke to the Quail Creek Needlework Club regarding their background and mission. We learned so much about Aviva and are proud to support such a worthwhile cause through our club’s mission of Gifted Hands, Giving Hearts!
The QC Needlework Club began in 2003 and provides members with a place to gather in a relaxed, friendly environment while crafting useful items through knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and sewing. Some items are donated to our charities, and some are for personal use. Work on a project of your choice—whatever you enjoy. No experience is needed. We can provide ideas or patterns. We also have supplies (yarn, needles and hooks, fabric, thread, sewing machines) for donations to our charities (including Aviva Children’s Services).
Olivia gave us a broad overview of all the programs Aviva has available. Our donations help support the starred programs:
* Aviva Resource Closet: The clothing and resource closet offers new and gently used clothes, new socks and underwear, hygiene kits, household cleaning kits, school supplies, and other essential items.
* One-Time Urgent Needs: Aviva provides emergency food items and basic necessity items not available in the resource closet, including diapers, to DCS workers and foster parents.
* Bags for Kids: This volunteer-run program supplies more than 4,000 handmade cloth duffel bags each year to dependent children and enables them to carry their personal belongings with dignity through placement changes. In addition, handmade quilts and blankets are provided to dependent children.
* The Aviva Divas: The Aviva Divas are a dedicated volunteer group that provides thousands of handmade items to children in foster care each year. Items made with love, like handmade quilts, toys, and clothing, comfort children in transition. They also raise funds to provide holiday gifts to more than 2,500 children in foster care each year. Aviva also holds an annual community Sew-A-Thon with the Divas, which brings in over 3,500 homemade bags to ensure children can carry their personal belongings with dignity.
Behavioral Health: Offers comprehensive services to support birth parents, foster parents, children, and other caregivers.
Kinship Support Services: The Kinship Support Services staff will provide support to kinship families through the foster care and/or adoption process. The support shall include but not be limited to home assessments, ongoing family support before and after placement, monitoring of home environment, initial and ongoing training, retention efforts, initial and renewal licensing, and initial certification and extensions.
Life Books: A Life Book is an album that tells the life story of a child in foster care. These chronological accounts of words and pictures begin with the child’s birth and follow their experiences up to the present time. Each story is told in a sensitive, accurate, and truthful way. For children in foster care, a Life Book may be the only record they have of their early years. The goal of a Life Book is to help children understand their past and recognize their own potential.
At the end of Olivia’s presentation, the Quail Creek Needlework Club presented donations to her of handmade stuffed toys, dresses, and cloth bags for kids to use instead of garbage bags for their personal belongings.
You are invited to check out our projects: stuffed toys, sundresses, shorts, bags, blankets, quilts, and more! Someone is always available to give guidance and advice, whether you are learning or refreshing skills. The QC Needlework studio is open Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon and Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. You’re welcome to stop by!