Eight of our members recently held a Thank You Tea for the lovely Hugs Team of craftspeople in the Dunbarton Community of Bristow, Virginia.  We wanted to thank them for all their efforts in making the special Hugs pillows for our Operation Hugs program, and for handcrafting quilts, baby hats and blankets, and children’s hats and scarves that will be distributed through our Baby Bundles and New Clothing for Kids programs.  The Hugs Team has been creating these wonderful, handcrafted items for us for nearly 20 years.  For our Operation Hugs program, we provide a colorful pillow, along with a small stuffed animal, book, toothbrush, and toothpaste, to kindergarteners at certain elementary schools to help them establish a good bedtime routine.  The hats and scarves are distributed to the elementary schools we serve when we deliver winter jackets.  The students appreciate having one-of-a-kind items made especially for them.

For the tea, our members provided an assortment of finger sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, cake, cookies, coffee, tea, and cider.

Unfortunately, some members of the Hugs Team were unable to attend but we enjoyed visiting with those who could join us.   After eating and visiting, we shared the thank you posters and cards we had recently received from the local elementary schools for their Hugs pillows, which are always appreciated.  We talked about the programs and answered questions from our guests.  After the tea, the group gave us 308 Hugs pillows and more than 300 hand-made items, such as quilts, blankets, scarves, ear warmers, and hats.  We are very grateful to the Dunbarton Hugs Team for the continuing support of our programs.