Little things mean a lot!

BABY KIT (Layette) Four cloth diapers Two shirts Two washcloths Two gowns or sleepers Two diaper pins One sweater or sweatshirt Two receiving blankets (one can be a knitted blanket) Wrap items inside one of the receiving blankets and secure with diaper pins. Processing/shipping: $1 You can also provide Baby Kits by donating $35 per Kit.

HEALTH KIT One hand towel One washcloth One comb One metal nail file One bar of soap (bath size) One toothbrush One tube of toothpaste (4-7 ounces) Six band-aids Bundle all items into the towel, and tie it with ribbon or yarn. Processing/shipping: $1 You can also provide Health Kits by donating $12 per Kit

SCHOOL KIT One pair blunt scissors Pads or notebooks of ruled paper approximately 8 1/2 " x 11 " containing 150-200 sheets of paper One 30 centimeter ruler (12") One pencil sharpener Six new pencils with erasers One large eraser Twelve sheets colored construction paper One box of 24 crayons One cloth bag, approximately 12" x 14," with cloth handles Pack these items in the cloth bag, fold the top over, and secure with two large rubber bands. Processing/shipping: $1 You can also provide School Kits by donating $11 per Kit.

Wrap your love and prayers in every Church World Service Gift of the Heart Kit you put together. Personal notes, money, or additional items should not be included in or with Kits, since the contents of each Kit have been carefully planned to make them as usable as possible, in any situation, wherever and whenever they are sent. Please do not include or decorate your Kits with religious symbols, as the Kits are shared with people base only on need, regardless of religion.

Rush University Medical Center - Chicago

Mission projects made by the women of our Presbyterian Women (PW)
First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton

Obstetrics

A. Services provided to the parents of stillborn children:
1. Angel gown, bonnet, and two receiving blankets.
2. Memory boxes (made from recycled baby wipes boxes) to contain foot
prints, ID bands, hair locks, etc.
B. Knitted ski caps provided for premature babies.
C. Knitted baby sweaters and bonnets for newborns provided through the
social services department for less fortunate families.

Pediatrics
A. Knitted bed socks.
B. Surgical dolls dressed in a hospital gown - used as a teaching tool and
specially designed for little people facing surgery.
C. Stuffed animals - specific designs for outpatient surgery and longer
hospital stays.
D. "Pillow pals."

Johnson R. Bowman Health Center for the Elderly
A. Lap robes - 36" square knitted or crocheted blankets.
B. Donations of Christmas, Birthday, and Get Well cards.
C. Donations for Bingo Prizes.

Surgical Waiting Areas - New and outdated magazines with name and address information removed are collected throughout the year.

Oncology Department - Comfort pillows.

If you wish to help in any way with these projects, please call:

Phyllis Josephson (member of the
Woman's Board of Rush University Medical Center)
(630) 668-5378

Malaria Prevention Evangelism Program - NetWorkers

Malaria is identified as a major world health issue because it is the #1 killer of children in developing countries. World Health Organization statistics show that children are among the highest risk group for malaria, and last year 700,000 children died from malaria in Africa alone.

The international Health Ministries Office of PCUSA, in conjunction with Presbyterian Women and Christians worldwide, has initiated a program called NetWorkers to reduce the incidence of malaria in developing countries.

Our Presbyterian Women are involved in this program sewing bed nets, which are then sent overseas and treated with insecticide. Since mosquito bites occur primarily at night, the proper use of insecticide-treated bed nets can decrease the incidence of malaria by 65 percent.

Additional information can be obtained from Phyllis Josephson at (630) 668-5378. There is also additional information about this program online at http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/health/brochures/women.htm. Photos from our second annual Mosquito Net Workshop on April 27, 2004, are also online.

To contribute to the malaria prevention/evangelism program, checks should be made payable to Presbyterian Church (USA) and mailed to: Presbyterian Church (USA), Central Receiving Service, Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289. Be sure to note ECO#048013 "Nets to End Malaria" on your check.

Prayer Shawl

There are times in all of our lives when a hug would help. Wouldn't it be nice to always have that hug right there, no matter that you are standing in a room alone. PW has taken on a new mission with the Shawl Ministry. The prayer shawls are not something you wear while praying, they are prayed over while they are made. This very special shawl is not only prayed over by the person making it, but it is then prayed over by the women in the knitting circle. They are made for women and men to be given for celebration times as well as hurting times and to mark milestones or to express love and appreciation. By the time the recipient receives it at least 6 women have blessed the very special shawl and hopefully she/he feels the support and strength of those multiple hands of blessing.

If you can't knit, we'll show you! If you can knit but just can't make the 4th Monday of the month at 7:00pm, go to

www.shawlministry.com

and all the directions are there. You will also find samples of the shawls that have been made, stories of givers and recipients and prayers to use to bless the shawls you make. We have a scrap book of the color and note that has been sent to each person. Please join us and give someone a permanent hug!

If you wish to help in any way with the Prayer Shawl project, please call:

Jo Albert, (630) 681-8175, or
Dianne Lambert, (630) 668-3769