Wesley Village residents in Shelton make blankets for wildlife in Australia

From left: Terry Moffat, MaryAnn Griffith, and Lisamarie Grailich talk about different colors and modifications they can make to the bowl pattern to accommodate larger or smaller animals./ Contributed photo

SHELTON - During the 2020 kickoff breakfast for the Prayer Shawl Ministry at Wesley Village, members agreed to help the homeless animals caught in the Australian Wildfires.

Kelly Coppola, activities director at Crosby Commons at Wesley Village, learned of the need for animal nests and blankets from staff members Terry Moffat and Lisamarie Grailich.  

A local news program featured a call for donations of nesting bowls and crate blankets for the homeless wildlife displaced by the fires in Australia.  

Coppola brought the idea to coordinators, Barbara Quinn and MaryAnn Griffiths, who went to work on finding the patterns, yarn, and hooks to start the project.  
They shared the supplies along with the information about the project at the breakfast meeting.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry is made up of residents of Wesley Village and volunteers from the community.  

Over the years, they have knitted or crocheted prayer shawls and lap robes which were blessed by the community chaplain and then given to sick individuals or grieving family members.  
In addition to the animal project, they will also make baby car seat blankets and hats to donate to Griffin Hospital in Derby to give away with the car seats they install.  

If you are interested in joining the Prayer Shawl Ministry at Wesley Village, call 203-944-8279.

Wesley Village senior living campus is located at 580 Long Hill Ave. and is part of United Methodist Homes, a local not-for-profit organization. 

The Wesley Village campus offers assisted and independent living, memory support, skilled nursing, short-term rehab, and outpatient therapy and fitness services. 

To learn more, visit www.wesleyvillage-ct.org.

This is a press release from United Methodist Homes.