Stahlstown-based ministry nears 11,000 layettes sent to families in need
One of the fun activities for expectant parents is finding the perfect outfit for baby to wear home from the hospital.
But what happens if the family can’t afford one?
It was something that concerned Audrey Bell, former pastor of Stahlstown United Methodist Church.
That was the start of a program that has supplied close to 11,000 layettes to area families.
In 1994, Bell took her concern to volunteers at the recently opened Open Hands Boutique, a thrift store housed in the Cook Township Community Center and supported by area Methodist churches.
“She asked us what happens if moms don’t have an outfit to take the baby home,” said Peggy Telford of Cook, chairwoman of Open Hands Ministries, which runs the thrift store.
The volunteers went to work.
Today’s layettes include a crib blanket, receiving blanket, 12 diapers, two onesies, two sleepers, bib, hat and pair of socks in newborn-to-3-month sizes.
The layettes originally were distributed through the Women, Infants and Children Program to families in need. Nowadays, they’re delivered to the Family Additions Maternity Center at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, the county’s only birthing center.
They still go to WIC clients but also to other families who can demonstrate need, said Wendy Reynolds, clinical director of the center.
Bundles of layettes are delivered to the hospital 40 at a time, whenever the supply runs low.
What started as a Ligonier Valley ministry has spread to churches and individuals around Westmoreland County.
Many of the items are handmade by a large group of volunteers.
Better than store-bought
“The ladies knit, crochet or quilt those blankets, and they do a beautiful job,” Telford said. “And the bibs, you’d think they came from a store.”
Many of the hats are knitted by Marg Gray of Aspinwall.
Gray said she started knitting and crocheting when her granddaughters, 32 and 36, were young and wanted handmade sweaters.
One of those granddaughters saw a pattern for a newborn hat, and Gray started making them a couple of years ago.
“It gave me something to do. Then I said, OK, what am I going to do with them?” she said.
She heard about the layette program from her neighbor, Sherrie Rizza, who is Telford’s daughter.
“When I get a couple dozen made, I give them to Sherrie, and she takes them to her mother,” she said.
Gray uses one pattern and whatever yarn she has on hand.
“I call it mindless knitting because I can do it while I’m watching TV,” she said. “If I used different patterns, then I’d have to pay attention.”
Donations provide funds for items that aren’t handmade, Telford said.
“I buy what’s needed wherever I can get the best price. We try to get everything we can on sale,” she said.
“All the families really appreciate these handmade items for that extra touch of love,” Reynolds said. “Maybe they don’t have someone in their family who can make these things.
“I came from a city hospital that didn’t offer these personal touches that you get at a community hospital like Westmoreland,” she said. “That’s part of what makes a community hospital special.”
“All of the volunteers are just happy to get together and do something for the babies,” Telford said.
Details on Open Hands Ministries and the layette program are available at 724-593-1698 or Open Hands on Facebook.
The thrift story is open 5-7 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays in the community center at 1698 Route 711, Stahlstown.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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