Making Mercy Mats for People Experiencing Homelessness
Overview:
On Wednesday, November 6th join Sunbeam Kids from 4:00-5:30 pm to assist the Mercy Mats volunteers at their regular weekly project preparing materials for sleeping mats for local people experiencing homelessness...made out of plastic bags that may have otherwise ended up in the landfill!
Volunteers from Mercy Mats of West Allis will help new volunteers learn how to do this work, and then they will later distribute the completed mats to a homeless shelter they work with in Milwaukee. Making one mat is quite labor intensive and takes multiple weeks, but what a difference a mat makes to the person who will receive it!
What to expect:
There is a job for everyone, including sorting bags, flattening bags, making plarn (you guessed it...plastic yard made from the plastic bags!). If you crochet and want to learn to assembling a full mat at home, please find Donna to request information.
Capacity & age recommendations:
We have space for 5 SBK families to join, and all ages are welcome (although project itself is generally best for age 3 or older)!
What to bring:
Feel free to bring along any single use plastic bags you have at home (optional).
What to wear:
No special requirements, but kids can wear their Sunbeam Kids t-shirts if they would like.
Project Leader: Vanessa Eisenmann
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
This project is currently open to members* but we will be happy to open it up to guests of space allows. Please only sign up if you know you can attend. We understand illness and emergencies do come up so if you register and can no longer attend, please let us know ASAP so we can fill your spot.
A big thanks to our Project Leader Vanessa Eisenmann for leading this project, and thank you for lending a little hand!
Amanda Barnhart
Board President
*While we rely on member donations to keep the good work going, we never want the $40/family/year to be a hurdle to volunteering with us. If you are in need of assistance, we do have a limited number of scholarships available that are 100% confidential, just email and ask!
