Women make mats for homeless by knitting plastic bag strips - Winston-Salem Journal: Local News

Women make mats for homeless by knitting plastic bag strips - Winston-Salem Journal: Local News

Donations of plastic bags and yarn are accepted at The Living Well Center for Lifelong Learning, in the basement of First Baptist Church in Rural Hall.  You can drop your items off Tuesday-Thursday 10am-4pm.

View Larger Map

“We’re giving back to the community. We’re helping those less fortunate, and we’re using things that we normally throw away,” said Knitwits member Jane Bodenhamer. “And what a great way to recycle them -- by giving the homeless a place to lay their head and body.”

Calls for Help: Winston-Salem

An emergency cold weather shelter for the homeless opened yesterday, and will be open every day until February 28.  Located at First Baptist Church on Fifth Street in Winston-Salem, check-in begins at 8:15pm, guests will wake up no later than 6:15am and the gym will be cleared by 7:00am.   A meal and clothing ministry is also being provided  by Centenary UMC’s Loaves & Fishes, also located on Fifth Street.

The shelter has specific needs for community involvement.  They are asking for new or gently used blankets, that will be washed between each use.  Your donated blankets can be dropped off at First Baptist on Fifth at the Spruce Street entrance any evening after 8:15pm.  Overnight volunteers are needed, as well as check-in and hospitality volunteers.

The shelter's most urgent need is volunteers that are able to provide food.  A simple prepared meal for 35 people is needed daily (except for Wednesday and Sundays).    

Examples of a meal:

• Sandwiches, pasta salad and a cookie
• Chili and bread with a cookie
• Soup and bread with a cookie
• Pasta salad, mixed fruit and a cookie

For more information about meal drop-off time, location, and other volunteer opportunities at the shelter go here.

More calls for help:

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC: If you've got time during weekdays, we could really use your help. We've got food drive donations to inspect, sort and repack and thousands of donated eggs to be regraded before we can make them available to our partner programs.   Find out more about volunteer opportunities at Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC here.

The Winston-Salem Rescue Mission is asking for volunteers to fill and distribute tote bags to the homeless men that they service.  For more information, as well as a link to needed items, please go here. 

The Shalom Project has a need for clothes.  All clothing is accepted, but they currently have a specific need for men's clothing, men's shoes sizes 10-13, and children's clothing, socks and underwear. Two regular volunteers are also needed on Mondays from 9:30am-12:00pm.   For contact information please go here. 

The Salvation Army is in desperate need of breakfast cereal.  They are also out of baby diapers.  You can drop at 1255 N. Trade or 130A Stratford Ct.   

Sealy/FOX8 Holiday Concert: All-Time Record Set for Cans Collected, Benefiting Salvation Army

Saturday, December 15, 2012 marked the 

23rd Annual Sealy/FOX8 Holiday Concert 

at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC.

Bass Players from the Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Philharmonic are in the Christmas Spirit

Parking and admission were free with the donation of canned foods for the Salvation Army.  

This year, an all-time record was set for cans collected!  

806,111 cans were collected between the Greensboro concert (on Friday) and Winston-Salem's concert on Saturday.  

With those donations, the Salvation Armies of the Triad will be able to help thousands of our neighbors in need.

Pre-Concert music was provided by the 

Winston-Salem Symphony Youth Philharmonic.  

Conducted by Margaret Rehder, the group performed many Christmas classics.  

Matthew Troy, Associate Conductor for the Winston-Salem Symphony and Music Director of the Youth Symphony, conducted the evening's Holiday Concert. 

The program was hosted by Neill McNeill and Cindy Farmer of WGHP/FOX8.  Both are well-known news anchors for the Triad.

The evening's Christmas selections included Christmas Festival Overture, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Christmas at the Movies, and Mother Ginger from the Nutcracker.  

Girls from Salem Gymnastics flew through the air to Mother Ginger, making the performance quite memorable.

Carol of the Bells, Excerpts from the Nutcracker Suite and Waltz of the Flowers followed.  

Waltz of the Flowers featured the Winston-Salem Festival Ballet.

Tenor Glenn Seibert accompanied the Symphony for O, Holy Night, and then the entire coliseum audience participated in a Christmas Sing-A-Long.  Next came the fun Caribbean Sleigh Ride, and Bugler's Holiday.  What Holiday Concert would be complete without Sleigh Ride?  That was performed next, then The Grinch Who Store Christmas Medley, The Christmas Song and Little Bolero Boy. 

If you live in the Piedmont Triad, this yearly Holiday Concert should be on your list of family traditions.  People travelled from as far as Virginia, and many counties were represented in last nights audience.  There are performances in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Elon, and each one is different.  The Sealy/FOX8 Holiday Concert is a great way to help the Salvation Army, and is sure to make the season brighter.

How You Can Help: Gifts for Kids, Give A Kid A Coat, Angel Tree, Stuff A Stocking

Fox8 has kicked off it's Gifts for Kids campaign, and there are several ways you can help!

Each year Fox8 works with the Salvation Armies of the Piedmont Triad to help collect gifts for the needy children of our area.  Last year, more than 24,000 children received presents through this effort.

You can bring new and unwrapped gifts to the Fox8 station, any Lowe's Home Improvement store, or North State Communications stores.  You can also make monetary donations; it's easy to donate monetarily with the cashier while you check out at Lowe's.  

Gifts will be collected at Lowe's until December 12.  You can continue to bring gifts to the Fox8 station until December 17.

This is the list of gift ideas from Fox8:

Infants (birth – 24 months)

• Elmo & other Sesame Street character items
• Playschool Rocktivity Sit, Crawl ‘n Stand Band
• Interactive musical/light-up toys for infants
• Push & pull toys
• Educational toys (Leapfrog/vtech type items)
• Cruise Groove Ballapalooza

Preschool Girls (2 – 4 years)

• Character items (Disney) – Minnie’s Flipping Fun Kitchen, Pillow Pets
• Crayola Drawing and Paint items
• Leapfrog/LeapPad/V-tech educational toys
• Dress-up/imaginary play toys (Princess costumes, cheerleaders, ballerinas, kitchen play sets, tea sets…)
• Board games (Memory, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders)
• Doc McStuffins “Time For Your Check Up” doll
• Lalaloopsy Silly Hair Stars Dolls
• DVDs

Preschool Boys (2 – 4 years)

• Character items
• MAGFORCE Command Center
• Leapfrog/LeapPad/Vtech educational toys
• Imaginary play (toy tool sets such as Bob the Builder, fireman/police officer hats, cowboys, ball players, super heroes)
• Board games
• Legos, Jake and the Never Land Pirates
• Duplo Blocks
• Trains, trucks, cars, the Original Big Wheel Racer
• DVDs

5-7 year old Girls

• Pillow Pets, Friends Summer Riding Camp
• scooter/skates & helmet
• Furbies
• Jewelry and bead craft kits
• Gelarti Designer Studio
• DVDs

5-7 year old Boys

• TV plug-in video games
• Lite Brix Lumi-Port
• Action figures, Micro Chargers Time Track, Switch & Go Dinos, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Remote control cars, boats and helicopters
• Lego/mega block sets
• Skateboards/scooters with helmet, Y Volution Fliker Flow Series Scooter
• Board games (Hulk Smash, Shoots & Ladders, Connect Four, Memory, Pokémon cards)
• DVDs

8-10 year old Girls

• 1D Collector Dolls
• Scooter/skates & helmet
• Barbie & accessories
• Groovy Girls dolls
• Jewelry and bead craft kits
• Board games (Twister Moves, Guess Who?, Game of Life – Twists & Turns, Scrabble Junior )
• DVDs

8-10 year old Boys

• TV plug-in video games
• Air Hogs, Beyblade, Lazer Tag Blaster
• Remote control cars, boats and helicopters
• Nerf n Strike Retaliator
• Skateboards/scooters with helmet
• Board games (Monopoly Clone Wars, Bakugan, Sorry Sliders)
• DVDs
• Ninjago Epic Dragon Battle
• Skylander Giants

10-12 year old Girls

• Pocketbooks and bags
• Personal care items/“spa” items – Bath & Body Works
• MP3 players
• DVDs 
• TV plug-in video games
• Games (Life, Catch Phrase, DVD games, UNO)
• Skateboards & helmets
• CDs & CD players
• Digital camera
• Watches

10-12 year old Boys

• Watches
• MP3 players
• DVDs  
• TV plug-in video games
• Games (Catch Phrase, DVD games, UNO)
• Skateboards & helmets
• CDs & CD players
• Digital Camera

Also remember that the Give A Kid A Coat campaign continues until November 24.  Drop your new or gently used coats at any A Cleaner World.  Coats are cleaned and minor repairs are made, and the Salvation Army will pick them up and give them to people in need.

You can also honor a friend or loved one with a Christmas 2012 Honor Card.  With your minimum donation of $5, you will receive a specially designed Honor Card to let the recipient know that a donation was made in their honor.  

The Salvation Army Angel Tree will be at Hanes Mall from November 9-December 14.  Donations can be dropped off at the tree located on the Lower Level near H&M. 

WFMY News2 has also partnered with the Salvation Army for Stuff A Stocking.  Pick up a stocking at any Triad area Chick-Fil-A, Mattress Firm, Salvation Army location, or at the WFMY News 2 station.  Stockings need to be returned by December 14. 

The need is great this year!  Do what you can to help.