We did it! We reached our 2010 Community Project Goal. THANK YOU!

We reached our goal thanks to all our volunteers! Home Sweet Home Care's 2010 Community Project was two-fold, both to benefit the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters. These projects were inspired by the premature birth of the grandson of Shirley McGee, owner of Home Sweet Home Care. Born at 26 weeks, little Chase Matthew Jensen had to reside at CHKD where he received 24-hour care by a wonderful nursing staff until he was strong and healthy enough to come home (just before Christmas!). During their daily visits, Shirley McGee and Chase's mother, Stephanie Jensen, became aware of the dwindling supply of donated preemie-sized to 3 month-old clothing in CHKD's Care Closet as well as the shortage of fitted covers for the isolettes (incubators).

The Care Closet gives the premature or seriously ill babies donated outfits, socks, hats, and receiving blankets. Families are not prepared for the sudden immature birth of an infant or for a sudden illness which requires hospitalization of their young child. The Care Closet allows families to focus on their child's care as opposed to rushing to find preemie-sized clothing for their baby or packing a suitcase before going to the hospital. Home Sweet Home Care supplied drop-off containers at the Citizen's National Bank in Windsor and the Eagle Harbor (Carrollton) branch of Old Point National Bank, and there was also a drop-off container in Home Sweet Home Care's office.

The isolette covers are needed to keep the babies in a dark environment because they are not mature enough to handle the overstimulation of light and noises. An avid sewer herself, Home Sweet Home Care's office manager Rachel Martin oversaw the project. The volunteer-sewn fitted covers were created by using an existing isolette cover to make a pattern. From there, copies of the pattern were handed out to volunteers; members of the community, including employees of Home Sweet Home Care, donated fabric and/or money to purchase fabric; and volunteers cut out and sewed together the isolette covers. Our goal was 65 covers because that is the number of beds in the CHKD Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Home Sweet Home Care Inc. sponsored this project through the provision of materials, money to purchase materials, and hundreds of employee hours throughout the year, which were spent coordinating donations, managing the sewing of isolette covers and sewing isolette covers. However, without a broad base of volunteerism our goal would never have been met. Thus we want to send a very special and heart-felt thank you to ALL who were involved in Home Sweet Home Care's 2010 Community Projects for the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters.  In particular, we would like to recognize:

• Rachel Martin, who donated many hours coordinating, advising, making patterns, cutting out fabric, sewing together 20 isolette covers, as well as donating $50 worth of fabric
• Helen Carter, donated her time to sew together 12 isolette covers
• Kris Steil, donated her time to purchase, cut out, and sew together 3 isolette covers
• Donna Powell, donated her time to purchase, cut out, and sew together 5 isolette covers
• Nancy Musey, donated $50 worth of fabric
• Mulkey, Reid and Barton, PLC, donated $200 for fabric and supplies
• Stephanie Jensen, donated $175 for fabric and supplies
• Kathy Taylor, her sister Debbie Carson, and their mother knitted and donated over 100 preemie to newborn-sized hats

Through these and the many combined donations from community members, Home Sweet Home Care was able to supply CHKD's Care Closet with 15 bags of preemie to 3 month-old sized clothing! AND we were successful in making an isolette cover for each of the 65 beds in the CHKD Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this 2010 project. You have made a difference in so many lives!

2010 Community Project to benefit the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters

2010 We have TWO Community Projects this year.

We will again ask for the public’s help in collecting baby clothes, socks, receiving blankets, to be donated to the NICU at CHKD.  Sizes preemies to 3 months.

The second project is making and donating 65 isolette covers for the NICU at CHKD.  This will include having material, backing, thread, donated and also volunteers to cut out the pattern and volunteers to sew the covers. 

We decided to “double up” on Community Projects because of the event that happened on 9/12/09.  Our first grandchild was born.  He was only 26 weeks old, 2 lbs. 3 oz.  He was due December 16th.  He was immediately sent to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and remained there until right before Christmas.  We had an entire education, one that nobody would volunteer for. During that time, we learned that they have a “care closet” for donated blankets, clothes, socks, hats.  According to the Parent Coordinators it was very low as infection control policies now require any article being “loaned” to someone go home with them and not be returned to the closet. 

This care closet need resulted in Project idea #1, collect baby clothes, socks, receiving blankets and the like for CHKD.

Through the experience with our grandson, we learned that preemies are overstimulated from the very beginning.  They are suppose to still be in a warm dark friendly place; they are not yet ready for the outside world.  Therefore, the isolette’s they sleep in MUST be kept dark.  CHKD never has enough covers to go around, so Project #2 was born.

 If you would like to donate materials or time to either of these projects, we appreciate your help. If you business would like to volunteer to be a drop off point for materials, please contact us so we can add your information to this web page.

 Thank you to all who help Home Sweet Home Care help others.

 Warmly, 

Shirley McGee 

If you would like to help us sew click here for a diagram of the isolette cover so that you will have an idea of what is involved with making one.  If you have any questions and/or would like to make one please contacts us at (757) 356-0342

 Click here to read an article written about this project by the Daily Press.