Despite covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the recently renamed Willing Workers of White Hall (WWWH) have been busy making caps and dolls for their biannual donations.
In May, members plan to donate 100 baby caps and 100 dolls to Arkansas Children's Hospital at Little Rock and about 25 adult-sized caps for patients at CARTI Cancer Center at Pine Bluff, said Sarah Payton, WWWH president and 33-year member.
No donation date has been set yet.
WWWH, previously known as the White Hall Willing Workers, is one of six Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service's Extension Homemakers Clubs. The White Hall group has about 16 members.
Caps and dolls details
About a half dozen members have been working on the soft baby caps. These are made on a loom and are done in a variety of colors and in three different sizes.
"Not all babies are the same," Payton said about the size variations.
The caps are provided to hospitalized babies free to the parents. WWWH members work on these during their spare time, but they will get the caps done before donation day, Payton said.
In addition to the caps, another six members or so are working on 100 dolls for young children. The cloth dolls look like flat gingerbread people without facial features. Payton said this allows a child to draw expressions on the doll -- perhaps reflecting their own fears or emotions. These will also go to the Children's Hospital and be given to kids free.
Cancer patient caps
A third WWWH group is fashioning about 25 adult-sized caps from recycled T-shirts for CARTI Cancer Center of Pine Bluff patients.
Payton said whenever she attends an event and shirts are being given away, she asks for an extra-large size.The extra-large shirts are turned into a couple of caps, Payton said.
The donation will also be made in May, and the caps are available to patients free of charge.
It's especially tough for people who are undergoing chemo treatments and lose their hair, and, "It's our way to reaching out to those in need," Payton said.
A focus on giving
"We are a community service organization so we help where we can, Payton said. "Service is our main goal."
In addition to their bi-annual donations of caps and dolls, members have sewn blankets and helped keep the White Hall Food Pantry stocked. In fact, currently they're gathering food for a donation, Payton said.
The White Hall group meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the White Hall Museum, 9009 Dollarway Road, and they welcome new members.
"There is plenty of room at the museum," Payton said about members' ability to socially distance as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health.
However, Payton suggests calling ahead because they plan to move back to their original meeting location, the White Hall Public Library, 300 Anderson Ave., as soon as possible.
For more information, call the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service at (870) 534-1033 or email Mary Ann Kizer, a family and consumer sciences agent at the extension service, at mkizer@uaex.edu.
