One of the most craft-prolific nonagenarians one could ever hope to meet, Edie Russ, a south side of Athens resident, has crocheted 320 afghan blankets to date for a charity called Covered with Love. And with 377 total afghans made — some having gone to family members over the years as newborns or toddlers — there is no letting up for her.
Covered with Love volunteers, about 30 of them from different states, create beanies and blankets for children’s hospitals across the United States. New batches are made each year, with more volunteers distributing them to the hospitals. Most children receiving afghans are ill but have a chance for recovery, and they can range in age from infants to teens.
“That’s why we do it, to make children and their moms feel a little bit better,” said the soft-spoken Russ. On those occasions where parents lose a child to illness, they receive a beanie and a blanket, known as a bereavement set.
Covered with Love is one of many charitable organizations that are the brainchild of Josh Groban, a multi-platinum album selling singer, actor and Broadway musical performer. Each summer, as happened July 14, Edie’s niece — Carol Newhouser of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and a self-described Groban “superfan” — visits Edie to pick up her latest batch of afghans crocheted over the past year.
The afghan baby blankets Edie crochets, feature colorful granny squares. They are 30 by 36 inches, just right for a mother and child to wrap themselves in. The latest batch Newhouser received from her aunt were neatly stacked for a total of 42. White yarn was used as the base color. Some will be distributed in August at Spanish Fork Hospital in Spanish Fork, Utah, while others will be delivered to children’s hospitals next year.
Russ has made afghans for Covered with Love for the past 15 years, a prolific and selfless endeavor made possible because her niece, Newhouser, is the charity’s coordinator. Back in 2009, Newhouser was highly involved with a charity called Tender Totes and Heavenly Dreams, which offered tote bags and pillow cases to children at Shriner’s Hospitals. She asked her aunt Edie if she would be interested in crocheting an afghan for its sister charity, Covered with Love, and Edie obliged.
The budding volunteer duo was made even more convenient when Newhouser took the reins as Covered with Love coordinator in 2015. That year, Edie’s prolific afghan making was considerable, with 53 made.
Edie’s first afghan for the charity was completed in May of 2009, with a cool color of pastel green. It was delivered in August of that year to Children’s Hospital of Colorado in Denver. Her afghan baby blankets have made their way to hospitals coast to coast, such as A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. Her 200th afghan was delivered to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, appropriate since Edie is a Philadelphia area native. Every recipient receives a Josh Groban music CD.
“This is a win-win situation,” Newhouser said. “It gives meaning to my aunt knowing she can make these afghans for families, and I’m noticing that a lot of people grasp what a blessing it is to receive them. It can make a difficult situation brighter and a bit easier for them when they have a sick child.”
Newhouser said Groban, who is from Los Angeles, has always prioritized charitable giving, with his causes in more recent years focusing on bringing art and art education to children. He had the opportunity to meet Nelson Mandela during one of his concerts in South Africa.
“Josh was told by Nelson Mandela that the best thing he could do to impact the world is concentrate on helping children because it has the most impact,” Newhouser said, adding that art education was starting to be taken out of many school systems within the past decade.
Edie and her husband, Ed Russ, are part of the Ohio University community. Ed was a longtime civil engineering faculty member with OU. To date, Covered with Love has donated to children’s hospitals a total of 21,776 beanies, 3,290 afghans, and 452 bereavement sets.
Most Popular
Comments / 0