Reaping What They Sew In Helena, Mont.

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

Every Thursday, about a dozen women gather at a church to sew and socialize. Working together, the group — started a decade ago by Juanita Ryan — makes quilts, pillowcases, placemats, dish towels and other soft necessities.

The volunteers also pack up a few household items in hand-stitched bags and deliver them — along with the quilts — to The Friendship Center, a shelter for abused women and children. The sewing circle has a simple, substantive goal: To provide one bag and one quilt to each new woman who arrives at the center, to help her start her new life.

Emilie Ritter Saunders is a reporter for StateImpact Idaho/Boise State Public Radio.

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