Chambana Sun

For the Champaign Mixed Clovers 4-H Club, “Kids Helping Kids” is more than just a slogan – it’s a tangible way of helping some of the 250,000 children diagnosed with cancer each year.

In its 11th year, the program brought 50 volunteers together for a sew-a-thon at the Champaign County Extension Auditorium, according to a posting on the University of Illinois Extension website. Twenty bags, 25 pillowcases and a dozen tied-fleece blankets that were produced will be distributed to kids and infants across the state facing the grim reality of a cancer diagnosis.

During past campaigns, the Mixed Clovers 4-H members sewed hats and scarves for schoolchildren during winter. This year, club leader Linda Thiele worked with Sadie’s Dream for a Cure, a program that delivers toys and snacks to childhood cancer sufferers, the posting said.

Linda Thiele | http://4hfoundation.illinois.edu/content/linda-thiele

Like a crew of industrious elves, the 4-H volunteers fashioned the raw materials Sadie’s Dream for a Cure provided into the bags and pillowcases the charity will use to distribute its comforting gifts to patients. Organizers said making these gifts helped the giver as well as the recipient.

“Whether a member pinned pieces to be sewn, turned handles or sewed a pocket or bag body, all gained skills and confidence by actually making something,” Thiele said in the posting. “It was great to see the excitement for the 4-H members working together to make another child’s life more enjoyable.”