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Quilting Group Blankets Needy Kids

Tribune photo by JESSICA BALANZA

Suanne Wesselhoff, secondary teacher at Caminiti Exceptional Center, offeres Naki Perry, 10, two blankets to choose from.

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 17, 2008

A church's quilting group brought a little warmth and comfort to children this month at Caminiti Exceptional Center.

The women made and donated lap blankets to the 43 students in wheelchairs who attend Caminiti, a special-needs school. Though the blankets will keep the students, who range from 3 to 22, at a cozy temperature, they have a more powerful meaning, said Nancy Haupt, president of the Caminiti Parent-Teacher Association.

"It's more love than anything," Haupt said. "They cherish them. They hold on to them."

The gifts came from the Angel Stitches club at Messiah Lutheran on Hutchison Road. The group has met for about a decade and works together on different charitable projects that involve sewing, quilting and crocheting, said member Kathy Mathews. Some materials are donated and some the members provide themselves.

About eight people attend monthly meetings and work on their projects at home as well. The lap blankets, Mathews said, are different from traditional quilts because they have to be wide enough for the wheelchair but not too long or they will get in the way.

Haupt said Caminiti relies on community help. About a quarter of the 180 Caminiti students live in group homes. Others live with their parents, but the families are so overwhelmed with caring for their children that they do not have the time or energy that other parents might to volunteer at the school.

Angel Stitches planned to deliver the blankets before school let out for winter break.

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