Babies and toddlers in Nunavut snuggle in quilts from Temple Israel
Photo: Temple Israel
Story by Louise Rachlis for Temple Israel
For many years, the Temple Israel quilters have been making baby quilts and crocheted blankets for hospitals and daycare centres in Israel.
However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, few visitors are travelling to Israel so the quilts and blankets have piled up in the quilters’ workroom next to the Temple.
However, quilter Patsy Royer recently made contact with Sara Holzman, a Temple member who lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut to help get the quilts to babies in need.
“Most Canadians know that the families in the far north are large and growing larger – so many babies and toddlers – while the cost of suitable food and clothing for these little ones is enormous due to shipping being only by air,” says Royer.
Fortunately, she found out One Plane Away (OPA), an organization which distributes baby and toddler items to the outlying towns and settlements.