34535734
Cheerleaders at a local school have found a new way to bond with their grandmothers. The students have been sitting around after school once a week over the past four months with a needle and skein of yarn in hand — all for a good cause.
Each of the 15 girls on the St. Nicholas of Tolentine, 913 Pierce St., squad crocheted a scarf, which will be donated to cancer patients at Northeast Philadelphia’s Fox Chase Cancer Center next month.
“We wanted to do something to make a difference and it’s fun,” Krista Pomante, pre-kindergarten teacher and cheerleading coach, said.
She suggested the project to the girls — none of whom had any previous crocheting experience — and the students ranging from sixth through eighth grades began learning the craft in January.
“I’ve crocheted for many years,” Pomante, who also is a St. Nicholas alum, said. “Each [Catholic Youth Organization] team has to do a service. They said to me they didn’t want to bake another cupcake or brownie, so I decided to pass on my trait to them.”
The cheerleaders instantly liked the idea.
“We all had to do a charity,” Sabrina Fasone, an eighth-grader from 11th and McClellan streets, said. “Why not learn something?”
Even Principal Sister Mary Esther Carsele was impressed with the unique idea for the required service that typically consists of food collections or Toys for Tots.
“I thought it was a great idea,” she said. “Usually children don’t want to stay after school, but they were excited about doing it. They’re usually excited about helping the needy.”
The students will not personally deliver the scarfs to the cancer center as a student’s mother plans to drop them off when she goes there for treatment May 10, Pomante said.
“I hope that [the patients] see the hard work and dedication that comes from such a young age group and even though they’re young, they understand the meaning of giving back to the community,” she said.
The pupils hope the gesture will lift the spirits of patients.
“That they know we care because they’re filled with sadness,” eighth-grader Georgeann Lombertino, of 13th and Mifflin streets, said.
“And see them smile,” classmate Anna Pham, of Fourth and Mifflin streets, added.
The patients are always excited to choose an item from the carts that are filled with blankets, scarfs, hats, puzzle books and decks of cards, Kathy Cowden, the administrative assistant in the volunteer office at Fox Chase Cancer Center, said.
“Anything we put on the cart is usually gone in a day or two,” she said.
Even with warmer weather on the way, the patients will still utilize the pieces crocheted by the St. Nicholas students, she said.
“Absolutely. Especially because some of the areas in the hospital are colder than others,” Cowden said referring to the chilly air in the infusion room where chemotherapy treatments are given.
And the girls will be acknowledged for their hard work, she added.
“Volunteers always identify who donated them and patients are thrilled,” she said.
Jane Saffici, of Jane’s Yarn Shoppe, 1707 E. Passyunk Ave., has been crocheting since age 7 and has taught students at Center City’s Saint Mary Interparochial School how to crochet for the past four years. Since the students there were so into it, she suggested the idea to Pomante, who Saffici also taught.
“We’ve got to get the younger kids involved in it or the art is going to die,” Saffici said.
She offered the students supplies to start for a low price and has continued to offer assistance.
“We got them all in here and they were picking out yarn and picking out needles,” Saffici, who has owned the shop for 26 years, said. “You can see when kids are really into it and they were really into it. … And I tell them, ‘I’d really like to see what you’re doing. Bring it back and let me see it.’”
Pomante taught the girls about five stitches before they embarked on the projects by selecting the colors, stitches and trim. Although the girls have been working hard to master the craft for the past few months, it was not always so easy.
“I almost gave up five times,” Fasone, whose 7-year-old sister joins the weekly sessions and has learned the chain stitch, said. “It was a challenge.”
“Once you get the hang of it, it’s not as difficult,” classmate Nicole Moffit, of 11th and Morris streets, added.
But no one gave up, Pomante said.
“They would come to me in the morning, ‘Can you show me how to do this?’ … I feel so happy and elated and fulfilled,” she said. “I’m so proud of them. They’ve grown from this experience.”
Now many of the girls have branched off and are teaching friends and family members how to create their own masterpieces including hats, bags and flowers, which they all wore at Friday’s Hawaiian dance.
Elena Hrushanyk, of 11th and Moore streets, is currently working on a blanket, but before that, she even surprised Pomante when she came to school with a frilly scarf she had made from a pattern her mother’s friend gave her. Pomante liked it so much she had Hrushanyk provide her with a copy of the pattern, so she could make one for herself.
“I was shocked and floored that one of my students made something that beautiful,” Pomante said. “With very little experience, she made it.”
While the eighth graders will be graduating in June, Pomante may continue to meet with the students during the summer.
“Just because you’re graduating doesn’t mean you have to stop,” she told the group.
For the younger students, Pomante is already planning next year’s charity for the long-term-care nursing facility at 2509 S. Fourth St.
We hope to continue it next year,” she said. “I think out next project will be lap blankets for St. Monica’s Manor.”
But for these girls — even those graduating — the stitches will not stop anytime soon.
“It’s addictive,” Lombertino said.
34507844
34507849
34507839
