Over the past several years Spenser’s Hope has collected handprints on fabric squares from preschool and Kindergarten children and made them into quilts.  These quilts have been so warmly received that the Howard County NICU has decorated the walls of their new unit with the quilts.  Due to the extremely positive reception of these quilts, we’ve decided to expand the handprint collection to the entire community.  In December 2003, Spenser’s Hope launched a new program called Caring Hands.  We will be working with local schools and businesses collecting handprints on fabric squares.  These squares will then be sewn into blankets for donation to local Hospital NICUs. 

Caring Hands will not only promote community awareness of preterm birth, but also show parents of preterm babies that their community is there to support them.  We hope to collect 10,000 handprints through Caring Hands. All of these handprints will enable Spenser’s Hope to donate blankets to many more hospitals in Maryland and bring a little comfort to even more families who desperately need it.

Thank you for considering being a part of this important event.

The following hospitals are currently receiving quilts from Caring Hands:

We are constantly in need of participants, supplies and volunteers for the Caring Hands project.  If you, your school or your office would like to participate in the Caring Hands program, please email us at gmiller@spensershope.org.

How Many Hands?

Total handprints collected since December, 2003:

6,000

Whose Hands?

Spenser's Hope would like to thank the following organizations for participating in the Caring Hands program:

		Little Lambs Preschool
	Matapeake Elementary School	Children and Company Nursery School
Folly Quarter Middle School	Seminole Sampler	Chesapeake Bay Quilting
Bryant Woods Elementary School	Harper's Choice Middle School	Longfellow Elementary School
Columbia Center for the Healing Arts	Queen Anne's County Mom's Club	Glen Mar Church Day Care
Bayside Elementary School	Stevens Forest Nursery School	St. John Regional Catholic School
Celebree Leaning Centers: Mt. Airy & Eldersburg	The McKee Family	Riverside Roastery
Good Shepherd Nursery School and Kindergarten	Prince Street Elementary School	Hickory Elementary School