One member served in the Korean War and World War II. Another member was, many decades ago, a dancer on Broadway for musicals such as South Pacific and Oklahoma ! The youngest member is 58, and most of the others are 15 to 25 years older.
We’re talking about the Women’s Welfare Committee, which is made up of about 15 women who attend services at the First Community Church on Mockingbird. They meet each Tuesday morning at the church’s Social Hall to cut fabric and stitch together things such as baby layettes, slippers, snuggle pillows and more, which are then delivered to various hospitals and charities in Dallas for the underprivileged.
There are certainly other groups in the city that do this kind of thing. What makes this group special is their staying power: They’ve been together for more than 40 years, and many of the current members are also original members.
Because of their longevity, their impact on our city is incalculable. In 1976, they started keeping a ledger of all the items they’ve made and donated. For instance: more than 13,000 pairs of adult slippers; more than 11,000 baby layettes (a package deal that includes a blanket, gown and 2 diapers); and almost 7,000 lap robes, for both adults and babies. They also make fun items, such as finger puppets for kids at Children’s Medical Center. They’ve made more than 600 of those.
In total, between January 1976 and June 2002, the group made and donated about 42,000 items to places such as Parkland Hospital , American Cancer Society, the Wilkinson Center and East Dallas Cooperative Parish.
It’s a staggering number, considering it doesn’t even include the items made in the first 10 to 15 years of the group’s existence.
“They are just unbelievable saints,” says Lisa Little, director of volunteer services at Parkland Hospital . Little has been accepting donations from the women for more than 23 years.
“Our patients are the working poor,” she adds. “Families who have two and three jobs just to keep a roof over their head. In cold weather, to be able to give them a beautiful little flannel gown and a blanket for their baby is a gift from heaven.
“They don’t do this just to fill time. They know they are touching the lives of the poor.”
They are also touching the lives of each other. Many of them have lost husbands and elderly friends and family members along the way, and have to come to think of their fellow members as family. In this group, Tuesdays are sacred.
“These are the best group of women who have ever walked the streets of Dallas ,” says Gail Baldwin, who is the youngest member of the group. Baldwin, a respiratory therapist at Doctors Hospital , joined the group after losing her own parents.
“They are the greatest bunch of women,” she says. “They are here to give advice or help whenever you need it.”
Though some of the group’s members have passed away over the years, death hasn’t slowed them. They just keep sewing and talking and laughing right through their grief.
“Sometimes we fuss and sometimes we cry,” says Flo Kilmer, the group’s treasurer.
“But we’re going to keep on going until we all go someplace. Upstairs, as I like to say,” says Vi Steed, a charter member who, at 80, looks at least 20 years younger.
Their dedication doesn’t go unappreciated.
“We cherish them,” says Little, who has awarded the Women’s Welfare Committee with a certificate commemorating their more than 72,000 hours of public service. “They are truly rare.”
But to the women, what they’re doing is something everyone should consider doing.
“If you take care of people, you hope it spreads. And pretty soon, the whole world will be taking care of each other,” Baldwin says.
And there’s another, more pragmatic reason to practice generosity, Steed says.
“When you’re worrying about other people, you kind of forget about your own aches and pains.
“We enjoy what we do. And we believe in it.”
