A man rolled into the Patchwork Bike Shop and asked Paul, a Bike Shop volunteer, to fix his bike’s front tire. It wasn’t an unusual request. Our Bike Shop volunteers see a lot of busted tires, bent rims, and leaky tubes. A lot can happen to a tire that’s rolling along for miles and miles, […]
It’s the first day of November. The air is crisp. The sun is shining through golden leaves everywhere around town. For many of us, it’s the time when we begin to look ahead to the holidays. Included among our holiday preparations is the search for just the right gift for friends and family. You can […]
Last Tuesday, a man came up to the window where we serve coffee and snacks. Gail, the day’s Hospitality Hostess, noticed that he was feeling emotional. The man told Gail, “You don’t realize how different you are from other places. Other people say Patchwork just gives you coffee and a donut, not a real […]
It’s a typical morning at Patchwork. Dee hands out shower supplies and socks in the main office, looking to see if she can meet special requests and joking with everyone. “Dee, I’ve missed you!” one woman exclaims, happy to have Dee’s humor brighten her day. “You’re weird like me. It makes me feel normal when […]
Patchwork Central’s Arts & Smarts program is going strong! Since it began a few weeks ago, many kids have spent afternoons in the tutoring room getting help with their homework and building academic skills. A wonderful group of Junior Leaders have been learning how to be good role models for younger children and how to […]
Patchwork Central’s after school Arts & Smarts program kicked off on Tuesday, and we’re anticipating a great year. Already students in grades K-5 have gotten started in tutoring, working one-on-one with adult and high school tutors to keep caught up in school this year. The tutors do not only help the students with homework, they […]
The man is a little gruff and he looks like he has had a wide range of experiences in his life. One day, he comes into Patchwork’s main office and tells Shawn and me, “The Doc paid my health insurance bill for the rest of the year. I just about cried.” Underneath the gruffness, we […]
“You’ve restored my faith in humanity!” the woman declared after a morning at Patchwork. She’d arrived early, riding a bike with major damage to its cables. The damage occurred when someone had tried to steal it. It was dangerous to ride it, but it was the only transportation she had. While she waited for the […]
The Patchwork Meetinghouse was a whirlwind of activity on Tuesday morning. Our food pantry was open for customers, and the main office was busy issuing food pantry referrals. Some of our monthly regulars came to get food to help them stretch their resources just a little further. We also had a visit from a woman […]
“I’m a weaver. I take the different threads of things and pull them together.” That’s how Susan Fowler describes her storytelling, and it’s a great way to describe the Garden Feast that Patchwork held yesterday to celebrate our Summer Arts & Smarts Program. An entire energetic summer of fun came together in a frenetic swirl […]