The Women's Club donated comfort bags to the GRPD. Pictured left to right are Detective Martha Holzgrafe, Jacki Allison, Kevin Lennon, Lynn Mornar, Gary Bach, Marcia Volner, Jennie Malonek and Brad Dodson, with Buddy the therapy K9 in front.
The Women's Club recently dedicated a bench for veterans at Riverview Cemetery. Pictured, from left: Jennie Malonek, JJ Hadley, Storm Adcock and Jacki Allison.
The Women's Club of Sweetwater County has been busy finding ways to give back to the community.
Last Thursday, members of the Women's Club stopped by the Green River Police Department to give the officers a donation of comfort bags.
The Women's Club has made regular donations of comfort bags to the GRPD over the last few years, and has continued to make sure the officers have enough bags to use as they work with children.
"We do forensic interviews here on kids, and the idea behind it is that in the interview, the items that are inside, the kids get to play with," Detective Martha Holzgrafe said, explaining how the department uses the comfort bags.
The colorful bags contain multiple items such as a blanket, stuffed animals, coloring books, and toys. Detective Holzgrafe explained that having the toys gives the children something to do while they're being interviewed by officers, helping them feel more comfortable. The children also get to keep the bags for themselves, which increases cleanliness by not having children share toys. Jacki Allison, who heads up the project for the Women's Club, also pointed out that getting to keep the bags means the children have something that belongs to them, which is especially important for those who may be headed to foster homes or in similar situations.
Detective Holzgrafe estimated that the department can give out around 40 bags over the course of six months. She said they keep the comfort bags on hand so officers can take them as they're needed, either in the office or on the road, such as when they respond to a domestic call involving children.
The Women's Club put the comfort bags together, with blankets made by club members and Girl Scouts who volunteered their help, and other items being purchased by the club or the individual members.
The comfort bags are not the only way the Women's Club has been giving back to the community recently.
Another project the club completed recently was placing a bench dedicated to veterans at the Riverview Cemetery by the veteran's columbarium.
"The committee from GFWC Women's Club of Sweetwater County organized to raise funds for the bench and JJ Hadley of BAB Investments met at the Riverview Cemetery in Green River to dedicate the bench," Club President Marcia Volner explained. "It has been placed beside the columbariums for veterans in the cemetery. Bab Investments donated $1,500 to the project. The club is very grateful for this donation."
The Women's Club also did a highway cleanup project, donated $250 in gift cards and about $400 in snacks and miscellaneous gifts for the American Legion Christmas buckets, donated crochet baby blankets to the OB ward at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, and donated food collected in September to the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen. The members are also working to get ready for the annual Holiday House, the club's biggest fundraiser of the year, coming up December 6 and 7.
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