Residents in the Helping Hands Knitting Club at the Bristal at North Woodmere are donating handmade blankets to Hospice New York patients.
What started out as a way to upkeep their knitting skills and pass time turned into a group of a dozen women ranging from 75 to 102 years old coming together to knit for a good cause.
“We like to present all the blankets made by these ladies lovingly,” said Helen Schulman, club leader. “To keep them protected, comfortable, warm and feel like a hug from all of us.”
Schulman, 94, started the knitting club one year and nine months ago when she came to the Bristal because she wanted to do something for charity. The club meets every Tuesday.
“First, we started making little baby hats for preemies,” Schulman said. “Then, we started making them for older children and then we got into the blankets.”
Each blanket takes less than a month to make as each member makes squares that are designed into a patchwork blanket.
“When everybody makes separate squares we don’t design it until all the squares are together,” said Linda Arezzo, 75. “Then we work together to design it but Helene has the final say. Depending on how quickly the squares come in depends on how fast the blanket is made.”
Mildred Suva, 102, said she joined the club because she hasn’t knitted in years and was glad to do her share of squares.
“I really enjoyed doing my little share I feel very good about it,” Sulva said.
Last week, the Helping Hands Knitting Club has been donating six blankets to Hospice New York that were distributed throughout Nassau County and the Five Burroughs.
Steve Aarons, director for business development at Hospice New York is the former director of sales at the Bristal North Woodmere. He helped facilitate a relationship with the knitting club.
Hospice New York is a boutique hospice where they handle needs of families 24-hours a day to help the families in the process their going through, according to Aarons.
“It brings such joy to their faces,” Aarons said. “These women were so happy and they’re still in the process of crocheting more blankets that we’re distributing throughout the fall and winter.”
Aarons said when he was at the Bristal he felt like the residents were his co-workers.
“You can learn so much from the older generation,” he added. “It’s a very valuable lesson to the younger generation that you can learn from the older.”
Sarah Knecht, 87, joined the club to renew her knitting skills and made new friends along the way.
“It’s been a wonderful experience and I’ve met some lovely people,” she said. “I’ve also benefited from their skills in many ways and love hanging around with everyone.”
Pat Hoerlein, 92, said she did not know how to approach life at the Bristal when she arrived one year ago.
“I wiggled down to the knitting club and found out they were doing squares for charity,” Hoerlein said. “It lit up something in my brain because the blankets go to hospice and I’ve had a couple of occasions with hospice. The women in this group are wonderful and special.”
Arezzo said the women in the group are generous and dedicated to their work.
“As a group there’s a tolerance and understanding here that’s probably not recognized,” Arezzo said. “Helene helps people who don’t have the confidence to do this on their own and people realize their skills are not lost.”
