Community Groups Support The Lydia Project and Help Women Fighting Cancer

Two organizations joined hands recently for a common cause–sewing Lydia bags to be given to women with cancer. Community Threads in McCormick, a MACK program, partnered with the WIN (Women in Need) Circle of the Lutheran Church By The Lake which has been supporting The Lydia Project for a number of years. Meeting at Hickory Knob State Park the women set up a workshop and soon produced 15 bags that will be delivered to The Lydia Project. There the bags are filled with helpful items such as tissues, hard candies, a pen and notebook. Other individuals and groups such as the Cancer Awareness and Assistance Group at Savannah Lakes Village then distribute the bags to cancer patients.

The Lydia Project has grown in 15 years from a few friends in Augusta wanting to sew, fill, and give bags to women cancer patients throughout the city. Today the effort has grown to a large complex boasting offices, meeting rooms, and a workshop filled with fabrics, cutting tables, and volunteers who prepare the kits that are distributed to other volunteers to sew. Located near Doctors Hospital in Augusta the property, a stunning pink structure, has living facilities on its lower floor. Women who live at a distance from their Augusta doctors and treatments can bring a caregiver and stay without charge in one of the ten bedrooms. The house also features kitchen facilities, a library, and a large common room. Remarkably the entire complex, beautifully decorated with its all-new furnishings, has been funded completely by donations.

The project took its name from the Biblical Lydia,a maker of purple cloth who is known as one of Paul’s early converts to Christianity. In her honor all Lydia bags have purple handles and are inscribed in purple embroidery with either the word Love, Hope, or Faith. The website www.TheLydiaProject.org offers much more information along with photos and volunteer opportunities.

Community Threads welcomes all who would like to join our busy group of stitchers. Open sew sessions are held at Hickory Knob State Park on the second Wednesday and fourth Thursday each month, 9 am to 4 pm, in the Bordeaux Room. Members of the WIN Circle will again visit with Community Threads on Thursday, July 27. Plan to take part in this community effort!

For more information about Community Threads, contact Belinda Ramsey at quiltingworkshop@gmail.com or call (843) 860-5403. Villagers Jean Randall and Peggy Harla can provide more information about the WIN Circle.