Although she says she doesn’t want an award, East Brainerd resident and retired nurse Pat Wright could very well win one for her long years of volunteer work. To her, meeting needs in her community is reward enough, she said.
National Service Award category nominee Pat Wright creates layettes filled with goods for newborns such as clothes, toys and blankets for the Ladies of Charity Ministry.A member of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Wright is nominated in the National Service Award Category for the annual Volunteer United Awards Banquet, which will be held April 12 at Unum’s Atrium in the west building from 6 to 8 p.m.
“We don’t know what we’d do without Pat and the Layette Ministry volunteers she manages so diligently and well,” said Ladies of Charity Ministry Director Jan Clark.
Wright puts together layettes made out of clothes hampers decorated with handmade skirts and filled with items that a new mother with limited resources may need for her child. Everything from clothes to stuffed animals are lovingly packed in each basket. Wright has made up to 144 layettes in one year and is constantly sorting, washing, mending and pressing donated items. She said she strives to provide each layette its own personality, creating themed baskets when she can.
“There’s just so much to do,” she said. “The need seems to be getting greater. It gets to your heart to think there are so many babies in need.”