Imagine that you have a medical procedure scheduled–a colonoscopy. Your doctor says it’s important and you believe him and start making arrangements so you can make it to your appointment. You don’t own a car, and neither do your good friends–the ones who would drop anything to help you out whenever you needed it. There […]
Wow! We had a great party celebrating both Patchwork’s 40th birthday and Alan Winslow’s 95th birthday! Hundreds of people filled the Patchwork Meetinghouse on Saturday. They had traveled from the Pacific Coast and Florida, South Texas and Winnipeg, Manitoba. Four of Patchwork’s six founders were here, and the first couple to be married as part […]
June at Patchwork Central was full of arts experiences for kids. The month began with Art Garden Week I with Susan Fowler leading our signature mix of storytelling, visual arts, gardening and cooking. From there, we moved into two Sculpture Weeks led by Christian Smith. Christian works primarily in wood. Participants toured Patchwork’s sculpture collection […]
Last week, Patchwork’s big room was a jumble of activity. More than 50 people age 1 to 90 joined together in a creative, colorful community to celebrate summer, art, and the natural world. It was Art Garden Week I! Threaded through it all was the story of Patchwork’s founding 40 years ago. Storyteller Susan Fowler helped […]
School is out, Memorial Day has passed, and things are changing as we move into summer! First and foremost, we’re excited to announce that we have a BRAND NEW WEBSITE! It has a great new look, up to date information, and a calendar to help you keep track of our upcoming events! Our blog with […]
A man sits at our piano, watches Youtube videos about how to play Mozart and Beethoven, then practices playing the music. The notes are calm and fill the room. He is one of our morning regulars who comes in for coffee and showers. There is a sustained chatter in the room as compassionate listeners trained […]
The finished bike room is just outside my office. When people come in who need a bike, Pete takes them to look over our inventory to see if there’s something that will meet their needs. Last week I overheard a woman who was looking at the bikes with Pete. In order to start narrowing down […]
“Don’t take a picture! I’m your boss!” he said, then realized it sounded harsh coming from a kid to an adult, particularly an adult who runs the place. He adjusted and softened his statement, “I’m the artist and you’re the photographer. You can document my art and show the pictures when I’m famous. But this […]
Ted is a man who “looks” homeless. His hair is a little stringy and he looks like he hasn’t showered for a couple days. He talks wildly to himself. You would probably move away from him if he passed you on the street. I probably would, too, if I didn’t know him. Ted is also a man […]
John Rich continues to be busy with his work as the Health Minister. He and Mary Damm, RN, are here every Monday morning to talk with people, take blood pressures, and answer a variety of health questions. Much of the rest of the week John spends driving clients to and from medical appointments and accompanying […]