Fairmount Residents Help Out At UNTO

Prior to 2020, residents at Fairmount volunteered at UNTO, a ministry based in Mount Joy, that works with "strategic global partnerships to relieve suffering through humanitarian aid in more than 75 countries."

In June of this year, residents Elizabeth Bell, Arlene Shenk, and Irvie and Edith Leaman drove to UNTO to help with a special packing week. "We were so impressed with what we saw and experienced that we immediately got a date for Oct. 18 during their packing project week. UNTO holds those weeks twice a year," reported Bell.

Bell and Shenk shared their experience at UNTO with others in their fiber arts group called Knitting Together. By August, Bell was asking wellness coordinator Nancy Silverstein to arrange for a group to visit UNTO in October. "I wasn't able to register us until Sept. 1," said Silverstein, who worked with fellow wellness coordinator Deyna Hrishka to put together the trip. Ultimately, more than 20 Fairmount residents boarded a bus on the morning of Oct. 18 and traveled to UNTO where they worked fairly steadily from 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on a variety of tasks.

Sandra Leonard knotted comforters along with two other women from Fairmount, while her husband, Keith, put together bracelets that were headed to South America. "The comforters will be shipped to wherever they are needed outside the United States," said Sandra, who noted that she had an opportunity to sew on a machine as well.

Edith Lorah created bracelets and also filled schoolbags with a notebook, stickers, a ruler, crayons, pencils, pens, and erasers. "It was like an assembly line," said Lorah, who noted that several children were helping to fill the schoolbags as well, including one toddler who sat on the floor scooping toothbrushes into a box for pickup. The schoolbags make it possible for children in certain countries to attend school where they are required to have the items in the bags.

Sally and Gordon Landis worked together on the wordless bracelets that use different colored beads to tell the Gospel story. "We did that for four hours, but it didn't seem like it," said Sally. "There are people across from you and beside you, and there's a lot of good conversation." Gordon added that it takes about two minutes to complete one bracelet.

Silverstein also took items made by residents to donate. "We have a number of people who work on their own making bags with handles, dresses, caps, blankets, scarves," she said. Bell's group sent along 36 hats. The group has donated more than 600 hats over the last few years.

"At the end of the session, they had (completed) 1,500 pallets of school packages, and they were ready to be shipped," said Lorah. "We gathered around the pallets and had prayer and that was very moving."

Bell was happy to see how successful the trip was. "Little did I realize that there would be this many people," she said. "All glory to the Lord."

Fairmount is a nonprofit retirement community located on two adjoining campuses in Ephrata. Readers who would like to know more about the organization may visit https://fairmounthomes.org.