When Anna Aguero launched a crocheting class for senior citizens in April 2015, she did not expect the group to be such a transformative experience.
What some consider trash, the ladies at at Hillcrest Manor consider gold.
Plastic grocery bags became the key to success for the group. The women began stitching mats out of the bags to give to Lubbock’s homeless population.
Aguero said the mats were created “to get the homeless people off the ground, for them to sleep on.”
“We passed out to the Salvation Army, we passed out to Grace Campus, and I’ve also given to people I see on the streets,” Aguero said. Some mats were donated to the Lubbock Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team.
The ladies cut, fold, and crochet thousands of bags to create them into the mats.
When we first introduced you to the group, they had already made over 100 mats.
On September 14, 2016 they celebrated mat number 400.
Aguero explained that even though the group has molded in the last year, the goal has stayed the same.
“People are in need,” she said.
After knitting 200 mats in seven months, the ladies made a special delivery to Grace Campus, formerly known as Tent City, to hand some of the mats to the residents there.
Chris Moore, one of the operators of Grace Campus, picked up another batch of the handmade items on Wednesday.
“Our residents really liked them,” Moore stated.
“They love knowing that people care about them and spent the time making something for them,” he said.
Aguero said the group, whose high average age has not stopped production, has no intentions of slowing down.
After announcing the next goal was 500 mats, the ladies groaned collectively, with smiles on their faces.
“It’s a labor of love for them, and is much appreciated,” said Moore.
“When i take it to the store people to show them what the bags represent, they can’t believe it. They think I dye it. It’s not dyed, it’s their bags! it’s amazing,” Aguero said.
Aguero said the group has already started a new batch of handmade scarves for when it gets colder, as well as teddy bears for kids.
“I’m hoping more people will get involved in this,” Aguero said. Plastic bag donations can be dropped off at the Hillcrest Manor office, 1102 North Memphis Avenue.
