I came up with the concept, “Pay It Forward” at work in regard to programming. I wanted to find a way to get people together to do something good for our community. Each programming cycle will feature a different activity. First up:

Pay It Forward: Knitting and Crocheting for Preemies
Pay it forward by knitting and crocheting hats for preemie babies. Don’t worry! You don’t need to already know how to knit or crochet, you’ll learn how! Experienced knitters and crocheters are more than welcome to share your expertise. For beginners, each session builds on the last, so be prepared to attend all four. Hats made this fall will benefit Edward Hospital & Health Services. You will need to bring your own supplies: one ball of baby weight yarn, and size G crochet hook or size 6 knitting needles. Teens will earn volunteer hours! No registration required. Open to teens in grades 6-12 and Adults.

Our first session was tonight, and 26 people came! I had no idea so many people would come to this! We had to pull out another table and more chairs to accommodate everyone. I was so excited, and it warmed my heart to see strangers helping each other. A little over half of the participants already knew how to knit and/or crochet, and the remaining came to learn. Four staff members helped me by teaching, and I couldn’t have done it without them. This will run for four weeks total (tonight, October 6th, 13th, and 20th) from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm.

It was so popular that I gathered email addresses so that I could let them know about something else I came up with on the fly which will be the NPL Needle Crafts League. This will be for crocheting, knitting, embroidery, needle punch, cross stitch, etc. Many of the people who came were disappointed to hear that the original event was only going on for four weeks.

Today was a great day at work, and I can’t wait until next Thursday!