Last January's program was about philanthropic projects in our local area related to fiber arts. Attendees described their past and current involvement, such as knitting chemo caps, knitting caps and blankets for newborns, teaching sewing to 4H members and teaching knitting and weaving to kids at the Boys and Girls Club. Ruthann Schoeffield described a project in Leadville in which women who are receiving services are knitting to give back to their community. They are in need of yarn donations. The sharing lead to a discussion about giving money for small scholarships to high school students, and giving scholarships to people of any age wanting to take a class advancing their knowledge in the fiber arts. We decided to present these ideas at the February meeting, and to have a small section in the newsletter about opportunities to give gifts from your hands and heart. The Alliance Against Domestic Abuse in Salida is very interested in receiving anything we make. Suggested items are blankets, sweaters, hats, mittens, gloves, etc in BOTH adult and children's sizes. It would probably be best to make things that can be machine washed. This will be an ongoing project for our guild, so let's get started! Use up some of your stash to help someone. Sandee Jaastad will collect items at our meetings and take care of delivering them. Any questions? Contact Sandee 395-4849 or e-mail her at [email protected]