There are times when you have to just marvel at what life gives you in all its bounty!!!
My most recent experience comes from a visit to the Materials for the Arts website. Materials for the Arts is an amazing non profit affiliated with New York's Department of Cultural Affairs. Singlehandedly, MFTA receives donations from individuals and companies throughout the Tri-state area of usable goods which are then distributed on regular "shopping" days to arts organizations in New York. Everything from pencils to padding can be found in their Long Island City warehouse. 
For items that can't be picked up, they have a Direct Donations area where interested arts organizations can contact the donees directly. It is here that I met Gen Wallace-Roe.
Gen Wallace-Roe is a dynamic woman and a professional organizer. Now hold up! Before you think that she just supports the lives of lazy upscale adults who just don't want to clean or who want all their DVDs alphebetised, think again! Ms. Wallace-Roe has developed her business for young adults who often have the daunting responsibility of disposing upward to 40 years of items from the homes of their parents.
Parents who either have extended illness, have moved into senior living or have passed away are unable to navigate the weight of a lifetime of possessions. Ms. Wallace-Roe works with the family to navigate paperwork, valuables and those items which are of questionable value. She, working under her client June Kleban, posted needlepoint canvases and tools as being available.We called her immediately!
After a few months of various phone calls and emails, we made arrangments to receive the items in the beginning of May.
On a grey day in May, a red 4x4 pulled up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn with a UHaul trailing behind it - Filled to the brim with needlepoint.
Needlepoint of every shape and size, needlepoint kits, needlepoint frames, needlepoint books, needlepoint threads, needlepoint for days!
One person may think - What will they do with all of that stuff!! Well the seniors at the Fort Greene Senior Center were able to figure out what to do! There has been a steady flow of elders stopping by to lend a helping hand - sorting, organizing and even purchasing needlepoint kits.
