Lois Waterbury

Five years ago, after viewing the plight of the homeless on the news, Lois Waterbuy was moved to take action.

Ms. Waterbury recruited the assistance of others. Now 12 to 15 women meet every Friday, year-round, for five hours making 'Care Bags for the Homeless' and bedrolls. These volunteers are middle class women, who believed in Ms. Waterbury's mission and like to sew. They don’t spend any money, rather they use recycled bedding, blue jeans, draperies and donated old spools of thread. Men's neckties are used to secure the bedroll for easy carrying. In the bag, there is usually a pair of mittens, a scarf, a hairbrush and a toothbrush.

Not only do the receivers of these care packages benefit from the service, but the volunteers do as well. They find joy in caring about and helping others.

Agencies across the northeastern United States distribute these bags. Such agencies include the Rescue Mission in Syracuse, NY, The Center for the Homeless in Indiana, the Red Cross' St. Joseph Center in Philadelphia, PA and others.

Thanks to Mrs. Waterbury's efforts and coordination and her teams 5,000 community service hours, more than 250 bedrolls have been produced and distributed.