SEW-for-SAI

Selfless service must be done hand-in-hand, in comradeship. This will demonstrate the unity of the Cosmic Being. The heart does not blossom through the mere study of books or by listening to discourses. —Sathya Sai Baba

Since 2005, members of the Sathya Sai Center of East Brunswick, New Jersey, have continued a service project they call “SEW-for-SAI,” wherein they get together to knit or crochet caps and blankets/quilts. The handmade items are then distributed to nearby service organizations. Volunteering for this project does not require any expertise at sewing yet provides an opportunity for anyone willing to serve and interested in spending some time selflessly.

Experienced volunteers supervise and assist all participants in the different steps of quilt-making: cutting, basting, machining the quilts, washing them, and/or packing the quilts in large Ziploc bags. One lady makes quilts from saris, which are much appreciated, being colorful and soft to the touch. Another lady specializes in making hats and has taught many women to use a hat-making loom, besides making up hundreds of hats herself. Individuals who do not have time but do have a desire to help, contribute fabric and yarn.

Finished quilts and caps are delivered to a local organization for distribution to facilities that serve sick and destitute children. These include state hospitals, cancer treatment facilities, health clinics, homeless shelters, youth hospice centers, behavioral therapy clinics, grief counselors, special-needs camps, and state nonprofit organizations. “This service, from willing hands, is to comfort the child and provide a hug of love,” as one organization puts it.

In addition, the sewing group makes up gift bags that are sent to the Easwaramma Women’s Welfare Trust.(2) These gift bags include two cloth diapers, a newborn infant gown, a knitted cap, and a receiving blanket – all handmade, washed, and packed with love. These are given to mothers upon discharge from the hospital after delivery.

How It All Started

This service activity got its start when one person had the idea of using extra scraps of wool and material to make quilts for donation. The idea was that anyone could participate who had some time to spend making small knitted or crocheted patches.

Some ladies chant God’s name while making these patches – sure to benefit both the person making it and the person receiving it. The patches are then put together to make quilts. Many beautiful patchwork quilts were made this way, but it was a slow process.

The group then started sewing quilts from fabric, and a few ladies began getting together on their days off to put together as many quilts as they could at one sitting. In 2006, they dreamed of together making 81 quilts, in honor of Sai Baba’s 81^st birthday. More ladies got involved, and that year, on Ladies’ Day (19 Nov, annually), more than 81 quilts were donated. Blankie Depot, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the making and distribution of quilts to various children’s facilities in New Jersey,(3) received 32 blankets; 25 went to an animal shelter in East Brunswick; 13 were donated to Goldwater Hospital in New York City, and 13 were given to an Ozanam shelter (operated by Catholic Charities) in New Jersey.

Over the years, the project expanded, as more ladies started bringing their sewing machines and crochet and knitting needles. Every weekend, a dedicated sewing room would bustle with activity while the children would attend Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) classes.(4)

Examples of Items Created

Various types of quilts, including patchwork and no-sew fleece quilts, are made in different sizes for newborns, “preemies” (prematurely-born babies), and children. Most caps are made using a loom that does not require any skill in either knitting or crocheting. These caps can be made quickly, in a couple of hours, by anyone interested, including children. The ease of production is very satisfying and motivating for beginners and often inspires them to make more! After being taught at the meeting how to use the loom, the volunteers can continue making caps at home.

Sewing Marathons

Once every few months, a sewing marathon is held at the local library, so that other members of the Sai Center, such as the children’s program teachers and students, who are interested but cannot attend the sewing service regularly, can participate in the project. This also provides an opportunity to get together in a big group and do what this group of friends all love to do – sew and hang out together! One session was dedicated to making gift packs for the Easwaramma Women’s Welfare Trust in India. These marathon sessions have been a great success, with lots of people showing up to spend a whole afternoon making quilts.

The group’s motto is “Hands That Sew with Lips That Sing.” Group devotional singing and snacks charge everyone with mental and physical energy, and the mood is light, with lots of camaraderie. All the participants become invigorated and inspired to do more by the end of each session. One year the group made about 80 quilts in a single afternoon, and the following year, many enthusiastic children participated, singing energetically while they sewed. The children who attended the sewing marathon were also involved in machining the quilts and were thrilled to see their completed quilts. This fun activity for children teaches them that by caring for others they themselves may get joy and satisfaction

What the Volunteers Say

“Together we made quilts and music, and I don’t just mean the songs we sang; I mean we are like a symphony when we work together so harmoniously. And what fun it was! There is a high energy we generate together that we cannot achieve alone. And each ONE of us is an important part of it, even the two little ones who picked fabric scraps off the floor.”

“After each sewing session, I always come home bursting with happiness! I am so happy I can do something that I have always enjoyed, for Swami (Sai Baba). What more can I can ask! When I make each quilt, I remind myself of Swami and how much emphasis he places on perfection. So, when I make each quilt, I am dedicating it to him. This truly gives me great joy in picking out the prettiest fabric. Or, if I have to re-do a quilt that was not done right, I am compelled to pull it apart and re-do it.”

“Recently, while delivering the quilts to Blankie Depot, I noticed that the exit I take is 117 (which adds up to 9, a number of spiritual significance) and then 36 (also a 9). The room we made the quilts in at the school is 108. The number 9 has a special significance for me. I realized this is not just a coincidence but a gift given to us by God to be able to do this small service. 

Letters of Appreciation

Here are some letters received by Blankie Depot regarding the donated blankets and quilts:

From Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Foundation: It is always so wonderful to receive a delivery of handmade blankets for our tiny patients, but it is especially fantastic to receive such lovely and cozy items during the cold and dreary month of January! Thank you and the members of your organization for thinking of the small and fragile infants and children at our hospital. As I write this letter, our neonatal intensive care unit is currently home to 51 infants – two of them are a set of twins that were born yesterday (1/29/09)! Though the babies are too small to recognize your generosity, their parents are touched to learn that folks they’ve never met care about them and their babies. I wish you and yours a very healthy year. —VP of Development @ NBIMCF

From Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital: On behalf of the BM Squibb Children’s Hospital at R W Johnson, I want to thank you for your very generous donation of handmade blankets. Each child’s eyes were filled with excitement as they received a comforting present they could use here and take home. I am sure you can understand how difficult hospitalization can be for children. Receiving special gifts can truly help to lift a child's spirits. I hope you know how much happiness your donation has brought to our children. Thank you, once again, for all your kindness. It means a great deal to the children, families, and staff of the Children’s Hospital. —Child Life Specialist

From Ocean Medical Center: On behalf of the entire staff, I would like to extend our sincere appreciation for the beautiful hand-crafted blankets and quilts that your volunteers made and donated to our patients. Please let each and every one of them know that their gifts were well received and brought smiles to many children who were hospitalized. Your group has a very special talent – the blankets are just beautiful – and thanks to their kindness and generosity, we are able to offer our most disadvantaged patients some measure of comfort that they otherwise may have gone without. —Patient Services

From Children’s Specialized Hospital: Once again, the creative talents of your terrific group have come to the benefit of the special children in our care. On behalf of the children here at Children’s Specialized Hospital I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generous donation of warm and snuggly blankets for our kids. You have been a special part of CSH for some time now, and we want to again let you know how much we appreciate your kindness, creativity, and generosity. —Tom River, Coordinator, Volunteer Services

From Apostle House: I hope you really understand how much your blanket donations help my children. They have nothing, and now they are warm. I am so thankful for your agency’s generosity every year. This year, I was able to help one of our other schools as well as my class. —Director

From St. Peter’s University Hospital: On behalf of the staff, children, and families of SPUH, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all once again for your kind donations of beautiful new handmade blankets to our pediatric patients. Your gifts helped to brighten the day for many of our patients and their families during the holiday season. —Child Life Coordinator

From Keansburg Resource Network: On behalf of our clients at the KRN I would like to thank you, each one of you, for your hours of work on all of the beautiful blankets! God bless all of you. —Executive Director

From Project Paul: I want to express another “warm” thank you for all the beautiful afghans, scarves, and baby items you gave us. Our clients are most grateful for these beautiful gifts. May all of you experience the joy that comes from giving and the peace of this holiday season. —Sister Green 

From the Labor & Delivery Department, Riverview Medical Center: Thank you for your beautiful blankets. Thank you for all your latest fabulous blankets. Our preemie babies stay warm, and we send the larger to pediatrics and off-colors to hospice and to the oncology outpatient clinic, where preemies get very cold. Thank you for all the hugs! —RNC

From Blankie-Depot, Project Linus, New Jersey, Inc: I hope recipient letters continue to arrive so that I can share with each of you the positive impact and exciting reception that comes when a donation from us arrives. During these difficult economic times, we all feel the pinch. It can overwhelm us. But, if you can find comfort in the mission of giving and know in your hearts that hard times only test our depth of compassion, then you see why I continue to champion for volunteering and encourage YOUR talents. We are in this mission together. Hugs, —Hillary Roberts, President

Spirituality consists of filling the heart with love, dedicating all actions to the Divine ,and striving for the welfare of all. —Sathya Sai Baba (5)

Additional Info

(1) Nov 17, 1985, pdf.

(2) Sri Sathya Sai Easwaramma Women’s Welfare Trust (EWWT), a multi-faceted charitable effort to uplift women, started by Sathya Sai Baba in India and named after his mother Easwaramma), www.ewwt.org.in/ewwt/.

(3) For more information on Blankie Depot, Project Linus NJ Inc, please see www.blankiedepo.org.

(4) Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) develops good character in children through the practice of truth, virtuous conduct (right action), love, peace, and nonviolence, values that are inherent in us but which must be brought out from within. The children learn and engage in respect for all paths to God and for parents, elders, and peers; kindness in words and actions; selfless service; non-waste of time, food, money, or energy; and a host of other exemplary values.

(5) 27 April 1990, pdf.

To learn more about or join this service project, you may go to: http://us.sathyasai.org/index.htmland click on the state or city in which the Sai Center project takes place. Click on “Email us for information about these Centers.” A local contact will respond to your email.

Keywords

Sathya Sai Center of East Brunswick, NJ| Sewing blankets and quilts | Easwaramma Women’s Welfare Trust (EWWT) | Blankie Depot | Project Linus NJ Inc | service to maternity and labor wards | service to hospitals and medical centers |USA Sai Organization Region 2 | USA Sathya Sai Service projects | Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Foundation | Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, BM Squibb Children’s Hospital | Ocean Medical Center, Brick NJ | Children’s Specialized Hospital, New Jersey | Apostle House, Newark NJ | St Peters University Hospital, New Brunswick NJ | Keansburg Resource Network | Project Paul, Keansburg NJ | Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank NJ | Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital, New York City | Ozanam Shelters