Volunteering with Arts & Crafts

On Sunday afternoons I volunteer with a friend at the Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre’s Women’s Hostel. I’ve benefitted from youth employment programs at other Neighbourhood Centres, and so this is in part a way to give back the time and attention they spent on me a few years ago. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to collaborate on art and craft projects with women who I would probably never get to know otherwise. Every time I go I learn something new from them.

The challenge, for me, lies largely in finding suitable projects for the women. Because the hostel is for homeless women, there can be a completely different group of women each time I go. Sometimes I’m lucky, and I show up with knitting needles and yarn, and meet six women who all missed knitting and were eager to start up again. Mostly, however, there are only ever a few women interested in participating at the time, and I have to be sure that what I have planned isn’t too complex. That isn’t to say that these women aren’t interested in large projects, but that the time and space open to us is limited, and many of the women have other things to do at the same time. Often I’ll find myself at a table of women who are also trying to fit in their showers and laundry, so the project has to be something they can pick up, put down, and pick up again later.

Here are projects that have worked out well so far:

• knitting simple scarves, using big needles and thick yarn to get quick, fluffy, warm results
• beading necklaces and bracelets – everyone has their own approach to beading and the women are generally excited to finish a simple necklace in an hour or so and then put it on
• knotted bracelets – One woman was so eager to start one that we ended up winding sewing thread into four-strand twisted threads so she could use it like embroidery thread. These are great because all you need is the thread and a safety pin and you can work on it anywhere.
• collage drawings – a stack of old magazines, craft supplies and a box of assorted pencil crayons has allowed a few women to make really beautiful collages and drawings, referencing the magazines or actually cutting out and gluing pictures to the page and drawing over them. Some women are really intimidated at the thought of drawing, though.

I’ve had a few requests for crochet lessons, which is something I’m not personally very good at, and unfortunately neither is my co-conspirator. Hopefully with time we’ll get ourselves into it, and then we’ll be able to teach the women. The other project I had in  mind was a postcard design project. I know PostSecret’s a little hokey to bring everywhere, but I think if I offer post-card sized index cards, magazines, glue sticks and the pencil crayons again, people might find it less intimidating than just drawing for the sake of art. And I suppose they then get to mail them, as well!

I think I should head over to the library and get out a book of children’s crafts, and see if there’s anything appropriate in there that wouldn’t take more than an hour or so to do. If anyone knows any good online resources for fun, quick crafts, espcially for older women, please drop me a line!