Re: 2013 "Heartland Give Back" (Goshen) - Babies Wrapped in Love
I wanted to share this information that was submitted to RV Business in 2011 (National Rally) by Jim Beletti as part of an interview done about the goodness of the Heartland family (among other pieces of information that he submitted). It will give you a good introduction of the
Babies Wrapped in Love initiative... a "giving-back" to the community of Elkhart, IN. and their most vulnerable population...infants.
Many of the states' chapters have adopted this program, "Heartland Gives Back" as part of their service to the community where they host their state rallies. It's a wonderful (
awesome) way to leave our "Heartland Mark" as a way of saying "we care!" We put the
heart in Heartland~
So please take a moment to read:
"This community service project was chaired by Pennsylvania Chapter Leader, Cheryl Horst. The project goal was to have Heartland owners knit, sew or crochet baby blankets, caps and booties. These hand made items would then be donated to the Elkhart County Extension of Purdue University who in turn would provide the items to organizations such as RETA (Reason Enough To Act), Elkhart County Women's Shelter, Elkhart County High School Teenage Parent programs, Alternative School and Riley Hospital for Children (Indianapolis). Cheryl's goal was 50 baby blankets. Items were brought into the History room of the Elkhart County Community Center building on Fairgrounds property Saturday morning. The ladies who made the items were able to "show and share" their hand made items with one another. This "show and share" was followed by the donation of all items to Maryanne Leinhart-Cross, Purdue Extension Educator for Consumer and Family Sciences. Both Cheryl and Maryanne was overwhelmed with the shear size of the donation and the generosity of the Heartland owners group. By the end of the program, 189 blankets, 90 hats, 15 pairs of booties and more than 200 pieces of baby food items were donated."