Union County EHC volunteers thousands of hours in service

Quilters: Sharon Johnson, Terrie Simpson, Betsy Welch, Trisha Nash, Lauren McGarrh (EHC Advisor) and Judy Couch hold up a quilt that was completed. The ladies are members of the Union County EHC.
Quilters: Sharon Johnson, Terrie Simpson, Betsy Welch, Trisha Nash, Lauren McGarrh (EHC Advisor) and Judy Couch hold up a quilt that was completed. The ladies are members of the Union County EHC.

By Kaitlyn Rigdon

Staff Writer

The Union County Extension Homemakers Clubs are made up of six different clubs, totaling 81 members.

The clubs include Busy Bees, Designing Women, Libson, Newell and Day and Night Quilt Guilds.

The Union County EHC is part of the Arkansas Extension Homemakers Council, whose members have made it their mission to empower individuals and families to improve their lives through continuing education, leadership development and community service.

The organization is one of the largest nonprofit volunteer groups in the state, with a membership of more than 4,000 in over 300 clubs.

With their fiscal year beginning July 1, last year the Union County EHC had a total of over 9,500 volunteer hours. The dollar value of their time totaled almost $230,000.

In 2017, the Union County EHC members completed numerous community service projects including:

• 22 birthday gifts for nursing homes

• 22 Christmas gifts for nursing homes

• Sewed 50 comfort pillows

• Sewed 25 lap robes and 25 adult bibs

• Four Operation Christmas Child boxes

• Donated CASA stockings filled with candy

• Sponsored a member to go to Nicaragua

• Mentored Faircrest 4H club members

• Completed five activity pads, 20 comfort pillows, 40 adult bibs made for local rehab center and nursing home

• 17 small blankets collected and made 10 comfort pillows for chemo patients at SARTI

• Donated money to Chemo Angels

• Collected and delivered 16 pairs of gripper socks to local rehab facility

• Made 18 hospice banners for veterans in hospice care

• Donated 11 quilts for home fires

• Made 20 Christmas stockings for children for Project South

• Quilted one quilt for a brain cancer patient

• Hurricane Harvey disaster: 35 kid’s quilts, 3 queen quilts, 60 pillowcases, 50 teddy bears and 20 hats

• Made 51 military Christmas stockings for currently serving military members

• Made 52 pillowcases for Red Cross and Salvation Army

• Made four quilts for victims of the Las Vegas tragedy

• 70 mug rugs for chemo patients at Christmas

• Knitted 4 hats for Children’s Hospital

• 20 Christmas cards mailed to recovering American soldiers

• Donated 12 kid’s quilts for CASA or Children’s Hospital

• 40 patriotic pillowcases for Quilts of Valor

• Made 75 pillowcases for donating

• California fire victims: sent 25 pillowcases and 41 Thomas Fire blocks (patterns provided by quilt group in California)

• Knitted 400 NICU hats for Texas hospital NICU

• 20 tiny NICU Christmas stockings for Texas hospital NICU

• Knitted two lap robes for nursing homes

• Donated 65 snap bags for CASA and Salvation Army

(Plus many other miscellaneous donations throughout the year.)

The Union County EHC also helped with numerous events during the year including Tinkerfest, South Arkansas Expo, the Union County fair and many others.

“The women in these clubs volunteer heavily in the community,” said Terrie Simpson, president of the Newell Club. “The reason they belong to these clubs is because they like to meet and make things and they like to help Union County.”

The clubs are made up of women of all ages, with many being retired.

The Busy Bees Club has members who are currently still working in their careers.

The women who make up these clubs range from being retired state troopers to nurses to stay-at-home moms, plus many other jobs and life experiences.

“We all had very interesting jobs and we had all of these talents,” Simpson said. “When we retired, we wanted to put it to use. Everybody is so interesting and everybody is educated in a different field and the stuff they have learned, they are sharing with Union County.”

The clubs meet once a month, with the exception of the Day Quilt Guild, which meets every Thursday morning.

Most of the women are in more than one club in EHC.

During the monthly meetings, the clubs will have educational speakers who discuss information for money management, nutrition and health, family life and child development, home environment, leadership development and special community projects.

“One thing Designing Women does is when there’s a new appliance that comes out on the market, they bring those appliances and demonstrate them for our club,” said Phoebe Sellers, member of the Lisbon Club.

Membership dues are only $4 per person each year to be part of the EHC.

The Union County EHC’s annual fundraiser, Holiday Market, will be held at the Activity Building on the Union County Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec.1.

There will be numerous vendors set up with homemade jellies, jams, candies and jewelry, crafts, plus much more.

EHC will be serving a home cooked meal for $10, which will include chicken spaghetti, green beans, salad, roll, dessert and drink. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased from any EHC member, at the Extension Office or at the door.

The EHC is under the umbrella of the University of Arkansas. For more information, contact Lauren McGarrh of the Union County Extension Office at 870-864-1916 or [email protected]. Or visit www.uaex.edu/health-living/extension-homemakers/.

Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at [email protected] or 870-862-6611.

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