Jane Gold
On June 6 Ellen Myers, Carolyn Good, Jane Gold, and Tracy Campbell from the QC Needlework Club visited St. Andrew’s Children’s Clinic in Nogales, Ariz. The group was able to tour the facility and donate hand-made items, including blankets and toys, to the juvenile patients who attend the clinic once a month. On the first Thursday of each month, the 45 to 50 volunteer professional health care staff see approximately 225 to 250 children. St. Andrew’s Clinic clients must have appointments before they arrive. Some travel up to 20 hours on a bus to get there, sometimes without eating. The clinic serves all clients McDonald’s for breakfast and sack lunches for lunch. In the future, St. Andrew’s hopes to have a commercial kitchen so that meals can be made in-house.
St. Andrew’s patients all live in Mexico and come from disadvantaged families. Either the family cannot afford the medical care needed or Mexican doctors have given up hope on the children. The clinic sees patients with a variety of serious medical conditions; for example, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, brittle bone disease, clubfoot, etc. The patients’ ages range from a few months old through 18 years old.
In October each year, St. Andrew’s Children’s Clinic holds its annual Cleft Palate/Cleft Lip Mission, during which surgeries are performed by doctors from Children’s Surgery International of Minneapolis, Minn., at CIMA Hospital in Hermosillo, Sonora.
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. Work on a project of your choice—whatever you enjoy. No experience is needed. We can provide supplies (yarn, needles and hooks, fabric, thread, sewing machines) for charity projects such as stuffed toys for St. Andrew’s Children’s Clinic, as well as ideas or patterns for projects. Check out some of our sewing projects: walker caddies, neck pillows, sundresses, shorts, aprons, bags, 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!