Linn County 4-H members donated 100 heart pillows to UnityPoint Health – Cedar Rapids for cardiac patients. Heart pillows help patients recover from heart surgery by providing an extra layer of pressure to counteract any jolting from a cough, sneeze, or movement post-surgery. It helps reduce pain because it holds the incision and sensitive skin surrounding the incision firmly in place. Doctors, nurses, and patients were excited to see the increase in pillow donations and were impressed by the variety of fabrics. Hospital staff shared that the need for heart pillows has increased over the last few months as their donated collection was running low.
Linn County 4-H Youth Council and Wapsi Willoers 4-H Club members partnered to teach 35 youth participants how to sew and the importance of giving back to their community. Participants, who were a mix of community members and 4-H members, learned basic sewing skills while creating a pillow for themselves and then creating additional pillows to be donated. Adult 4-H volunteers also donated their time and fabric towards this event. “[Community Service Sewing Event] is one of my favorite events to help at!” shared 4-H volunteer Terri Ingwersen.
“4-H values hands-on, experience-based learning.” says JD Otterbein, County Youth Coordinator for Linn County 4-H, “Our volunteers worked hand-in-hand with the youth members of their clubs to plan this free event for the second year in a row.”
Linn County 4-H members love to give back to their community and know how to have fun doing it. If you are interested in joining Linn County 4-H, or experiencing 4-H events and programs, visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/linn/join-4-h.
Linn County 4-H donates 100 heart pillows for heart patients
February 23, 2023