NCJW & CALE collaborate on weaving together a gift of comfort

A group of knitters coordinated by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Peninsula Section will be donating more than 40 blankets to children’s hospitals at the end of the month, according to Sunya Kleiner, a Lawrence resident and former NCJW community service vice president.

This summer NCJW is working with We Care Blankets, a Massapequa-based not-for-profit organization established in 1999, to distribute the blankets they make to children undergoing chemotherapy in hospitals across the United States. Prior to knitting the blankets for children’s hospital, the women made and donated blankets to nursing homes throughout Nassau County.

Valley Stream resident Carole Schrager, chairperson of the National Council of Jewish Women, Peninsula Section, said that the NCJW provides yarn and guidelines to the 19 women in the knitting group who offer their time and skills.
Kleiner, who is not one of the knitters, has been involved with the NCJW for more than a dozen years and is currently coordinating membership for the Peninsula Section. She said that every woman makes her own pattern using a variety of colors of yarn.

The knitters, though not all members of the NCJW, spend a few weeks knitting or crocheting the blankets that are approximately 3-feet by 3-feet. Some women work on lap robes at home while watching television. Every Wednesday, a group of about six women meets at the Center for Adult Life Enrichment (CALE) on East Rockaway Road in Hewlett to knit or crochet together.

Mildred Schoffel, of Woodmere, leads the CALE ladies each week from 10:30 a.m. to noon. “It worked out to be a gab session as well as a knitting session,” Schoffel said.

Some of the women have never knitted before or knitted when they were younger. As someone who has been knitting almost her entire life, Schoffel helps the group with the designs and answers any questions. She said they have completed approximately between six and nine blankets so far.

Once the blankets are made, complete with a NCJW label, they will be dropped off and wrapped at the Merrick Library on July 27 during one of We Care Blankets’ designated “Blanket Wrap” days. After July 27, the next two upcoming “Blanket Wrap” days at the Merrick Library are Sept. 21 and Dec. 7. Schrager said the NCJW aims to donate blankets twice a year.

We Care Blankets’ website lists 25 hospitals where the blankets are delivered, including South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, Winthrop University Cancer Center for Children in Mineola and Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

Last December, the group donated 60 blankets to six nursing homes in the area, 10 blankets to each one. Residents in Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Woodmere, East Rockaway Progressive Care Facility in Lynbrook, Oceanside Care Center in Oceanside, Bayview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Island Park, Beach Terrace Care Center in Long Beach and Meadowbrook Care Center in Freeport were the beneficiaries of the knitters’ largess.

Schrager has become increasingly involved in the NCJW in the last few years and is excited to be donating the blankets to children’s hospitals. “Hopefully it’ll be something they’ll have for many years,” she said.