Residents of Plum Senior Living Community 'Knit for Kids'

Knitters at Longwood at Oakmont, a senior living community in Plum Borough, have taken action to fight poverty and provide sweaters to children nationally and internationally by participating in World Vision’s “Knit for Kids” program.

Since 2007, the group of approximately 15 knitters from Longwood have utilized their talents to produce more than 500 sweaters for the program. This year the group donated 100 sweaters.

WorldVision’s “Knit for Kids” program distributes sweaters to children in impoverished areas as far away as Armenia, Nicaragua, Swaziland and Tanzania. Approximately 40 percent of sweaters are distributed to children in the United States—for example, victims of Hurricane Sandy benefited from the program.

“Upon reading about the program in 'Creative Knitting' magazine, my fellow residents and I felt it was important that all children have the opportunity to receive something new at least once in their life,” said Carol Swift, a Longwood resident.

Swift and the other knitters meet every Wednesday morning to make sweaters and socialize. They use synthetic yarn and follow the same pattern to ensure that all children receive the same type of sweater. The color, however, is up to the creator.

“By participating in the Knit for Kids program, our residents have found it rewarding in various aspects—one, helping others in need, and two, helping them connect with other residents who share a love of knitting,” said Michael Haye, Executive Director of Longwood at Oakmont. “As a senior living community whose activities are directed by a resident committee, we encourage our residents to pursue activities that they are interested in doing.”

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