Aid for Appalachia, a talented group of people that knit, crochet, sew, spin and shop, was founded in August 2016 by Terry Coon with the help and inspiration of her good friend, Kim, for the purpose of helping the people who reside in the Appalachia Mountains. “Aid” Members span the world including Europe, Canada and the United States.
Terry, who resides in Homer, New York, has been knitting for charities for many, many years. In September 2017, Terry reached out to Eden Harrington Hall, Director of Consumer Directed Services at CAPCO about sharing these items with the community. Eden quickly embraced and welcomed this offer. In October 2017, Aid for Appalachia supported “I Love Knitting Day” by knitting mittens for children involved in programs at CAPCO. What began as a single campaign to help the children of CAPCO very quickly grew into “what else can we do to help the children?”
Aid, a group of 270 dedicated knitters, crocheters, sewers, spinners, etc, very quickly embraced and excited to help support CAPCO. Aid has provided items including coats, hats, mittens, sweaters, scarves, baby clothes, blankets, books and are always looking for a way to help. In a two month period in 2016, Aid supported CAPCO by donating196 items. In 2017, AID members donated more than 800 items. That has continued to grow through 2018. The groups current is providing pajamas, blankets and books for CAPCO’s Pajama Party. This event is for infants-elementary school-aged children. The child receives a new pair of pajamas, a new book and shares in a storytelling time with a local guest reader. “We are very tickled to be able to help support CAPCO and grateful for CAPCO to give us the opportunity to help those who need a little help, says Terry Coon.