By ROSHNI SUBRAMONIAN
Students in Jericho High School’s Stitching for Care charity-based club knit and crochet scarves and hats for those in homeless shelters and to support breast health.
According to club adviser and math teacher Mrs. Armstrong, the club has grown tremendously from its 5 members when it started to its current enrollment of over 50. Club meetings that used to be held in the teacher’s lunch room 10 years ago, now take place in the high school library due to increased attendance.
President and senior Catherine S., explains the club’s appeal. “Stitching for Care is definitely not as competitive as other clubs nor is it an honor society where you need to get credits to be inducted. People join Stitching for Care because they like to knit and crochet, or because they want to make a difference. I think the environment at Stitching for Care is relaxed in the sense that our meetings are just periods where we sit at tables and knit, crochet and gossip, but at the same time, are motivated by the desire to finish a project that we know will go to someone in need,” she said.
Stitching for Care has two main projects. The first is to knit or crochet hats and scarves for children in homeless shelters. The Art Honor Society members wrap the scarves with beautiful bags, ribbons, and tags. Art Honor Society adviser Ms. Millmann delivers the scarves to shelters during the holiday season.
The second project is to knit or crochet pink scarves for the Susan G. Komen foundation. They sell the scarves at their annual October breast health marathon.
Junior Nicole C. has learned valuable lessons from her participation in the club. “After joining the club, I realized that we’re helping those that are sadly less fortunate than us. They might not have the things that we take for granted so making a hat and scarf shows them that we care,” she said.
Math teacher Ms. Armstrong and English teacher Ms. Gulitti are the current faculty advisers of the club. Ms. Armstrong, who has been with the club since the beginning and originally led with now-retired Ms. Zagelbaum, enjoys the students’ reactions to their work. “My favorite memories are the times we collected knitted and crocheted items from members and wrapped them. The members were overwhelmed with happiness with the number of projects they completed and the excellent quality of their work,” she said.
Knowing how to knit or crochet isn’t a prerequisite for joining the club. Most members of the club learned to knit or crochet with the help of other members and YouTube tutorials. “Don’t be afraid of trying new things since you never know how something might turn out unless you try,” said junior Nicole C.
Senior Vicky G. joined Stitching for Care a year after moving to Jericho. “I wanted to join a club in order to make new friends and learn something new. After I joined this club, I discovered a new hobby to do while I’m watching TV shows, and I met several amazing people who are now my good friends,” she said.
Current members want to encourage more students to become a part of their knitting circle. “If you have any interest no matter how minuscule or large in joining, please join. We love to have new members. Every meeting is a fun time and we love to have a lot of projects that we can donate,” president Catherine S. said.
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