Debra Bartz moved from Utah to Brockport to start a life and a family with her husband, Earl. But it was during a virtual trip home that she found her way to the niche that fulfills her personal mission to make the community a better place: sewing pillowcases for pediatric cancer patients.
While reading her hometown news online, Bartz came across the story of Pennsylvania mother Cindy Kerr, whose son had lived through years of aggressive cancer treatment before succumbing to the disease as a teenager. Kerr, a quilter, made pillowcases for her son to help ease long and difficult hospital treatments. ConKerr Cancer is now a 501(c)3 charitable organization that has distributed 800,000 pillowcases to pediatric cancer patients through over 130 national chapters, including the Rochester chapter coordinated by Debra Bartz.
“(Sewing) pillowcases is a very simple act of love that anyone can do,” says Bartz, who admits she had very limited sewing skills before deciding to start a local chapter of ConKerr Cancer.
The chapter’s first event was in February 2009 at the Seymour Library in Brockport. In that first year, Bartz and her volunteers sewed nearly 500 pillowcases that were distributed to children being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses at the Golisano Children’s Hospital.
“My very first pillowcase will always be one that I remember – I hand-delivered it to my friend’s son, who had just been diagnosed with leukemia,” says Bartz. The school bus print pillowcase brought him so much comfort that he rarely let it off his bed. After his passing, the pillowcase continues to bring comfort to his mother, who is now one of Bartz’s dedicated volunteers.
Childhood cancer statistics are sobering. About 11,630 children in the United States under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer in 2013. An average of four children a day will die from cancer this year. “It’s amazing how many children in our area are going through really tough things,” says Bartz, noting that many families have personal connections to cancer.
As with any mission, many hands make light work. Bartz and her core team of volunteers hold sewing events throughout the community demonstrating how to make the pillowcases. About 150 pillowcases are delivered to the hospital on a quarterly basis.
Her husband and four children also pitch in on everything from pattern selection to packaging finished pillowcases. The rest of the process includes: laundering new 100% cotton or flannel material, ironing the cut material, pinning, sewing, then packing the finished pillowcase with a handmade card. Bartz says, “What’s great about this project is that it allows anyone who wants to be involved to join in at any point.”
For the experienced, the entire sewing process takes less than 30 minutes, though it wasn’t always so easy for Bartz, who says, “In the beginning, I couldn’t figure out how the ‘grandmas’ (her skilled volunteers) got the border so straight!” The trick was using the French seam or ‘hot dog in a bun’ technique.
Scout troops, college students, teens, and assisted living seniors have all sewed under Bartz’s gentle encouragement. “It’s a great tool to teach sewing skills,” she says, adding that a local Boy Scout organized his troop to hold a fabric drive. He then co-hosted a troop sewing event with Bartz as his Eagle Scout project.
In September, Bartz’s chapter of ConKerr Cancer held their first Miles of Pillowcase Smiles sew-in at the hospital, helping children and families sew pillowcases side-by-side.
“Our volunteers are the thread of our organization,” says Jeanne Sillup, Administrative Coordinator for the Pennsylvania-based Con-Kerr Cancer. “Debra and her volunteers do amazing work spreading pillowcases and joy across Rochester. She is truly a ‘Smile Maker’.”
In addition to volunteers, many local businesses and retailers have supported the chapter with donations or as drop-off locations for finished pillowcases. Bartz relies on them all to help make a hospital stay a little easier for kids, saying, “If you sew one or a thousand – you still make a difference.”
For sewing instructions, upcoming events and more information on how to donate or volunteer, contact Debra Bartz at 585-395-1001, or visit the ConKerr Cancer Rochester chapter website at www.sew4smiles.webs.com.
Find out more about the national organization at www.conkerrcancer.org.
Provided photos from ConKerr Cancer
12/15/13
