Question: Some time ago, you had information about a lady who started out collecting Christmas cards and then expanded to yarn, I believe, or other craft materials for children. Is she still doing that? I have new, unused yarn.
Answer: Yes, you are thinking of Marilyn Gilbert of Kailua, and she still works year-round with other volunteers to decorate shoeboxes and fill them with gifts for needy children around the world. The shoeboxes are distributed by Operation Christmas Child, a program of the evangelical humanitarian group Samaritan’s Purse. Readers continue to ask about Gilbert year after year, hoping to recycle materials that might otherwise go to waste. She appreciates the support, expressing thanks in an email last week:
“I thought your amazingly generous readers might be blessed to learn that Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan’s Purse, took many medical volunteers to Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Ukraine, to set up refugee camps and hospitals for the Ukrainians who are fleeing the scourge caused by the horrible invasion by the Russian military. … Franklin also took 660,000 shoeboxes to be distributed to the thousands of children from Ukraine, many of whom have become orphans in the last month. God bless you and your readers who have been a part of these shoeboxes through their continued kind donations.”
Donated items are used to make fun, useful items for the young recipients or to decorate the shoeboxes that hold the gifts. Gilbert said she still accepts:
>> Yarn, which is knitted or crocheted into hats, scarves and purses
>> Fabric, which is used to make mini-quilts, girls’ skirts, boys’ shorts, drawstring bags and backpacks
>> New, unused stationery, notepads, stickers and calendars (year doesn’t matter)
>> Empty, clean prescription bottles, which are turned into sewing kits
>> Sewing notions (thread, safety pins, buttons, beads, etc.) for the sewing kits
>> Fronts only of recycled greeting cards (Christmas or other holidays), with no written messages. This is the item that brought us to Gilbert in 2016, because readers hated to throw away Christmas cards they had received, and were looking for ways to reuse them.)
To contact Gilbert, email gil.aloha@hawaiian tel.net, call 808-261-6087 or write 247 Akiohala St. Kailua, HI 96734. Email is preferred.
Q: When is Summer Fun registration?
A: Registration is scheduled for May 14, in person at the location the child will attend, according to Honolulu County’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which runs the recreational program. See details on the DPR website, honolulu.gov/parks/.
Q: Will vaccine stations (Blaisdell/Pier 1) be set up again to administer the second booster shot?
A: No, there’s no indication that mass vaccination clinics will reopen. The state Department of Health says that COVID- 19 vaccines are readily available at pharmacies, community health centers, doctor’s offices and other facilities. Use the locator tool at hawaii covid19.com/vaccine/ to find your most convenient option.
“If it has been at least four months since their first booster shot, people who are over the age of 50, age 12 or older and have a compromised immune system, or those that received primary and booster doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, may receive a second booster shot of Pfizer or Moderna,” according to the DOH website.
Q: Are all the public libraries still closed on Wednesdays?
A: No. Those pandemic-related closures ended March 2. You can find the branch hours for all public libraries in Hawaii at libraries hawaii.org.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
