Ernalee Munday takes over!
When Ernalee Munday retired from her home day care, she knew she wanted to continue to be involved in children’s lives. She began to make blankets for the Everett, Washington chapter. When the Area Coordinator (AC) left the area, it was only natural that she take over the reigns as AC.
She and her chapter have been featured in The Herald numerous times, which gained her notoriety as the go to person for those who wanted to help children. Her group knits, crochets, sews and ties blankets on a regular basis. They meet at her home once a month, and at times she has a featured guest speaker from one of the charities to which the group contributes.
Some of the organizations their blankets go to are the Food Pantry, Pioneer Human Services, Cascade Valley Hospital, Camano Island Health Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, a group home for boys and newborns. Ernalee has given blankets to fire department personnel to have on hand whenever a crisis occurs. Emergency responders appreciate being able to comfort a child in trauma.
Ernalee says “You have asked who my most remarkable quilter is. That is a very hard question to answer. All my ladies are remarkable in their own way. We have one lady who was the first to respond way back 11 years ago when I first began this chapter. She is a retired nurse, mother of 4 children and many grandchildren. Her husband is 87 and a retired home builder. She has heart problems and has had for years, but she loves quilting and is very good at it. She has a great eye for color, and design. She never comes to a meeting with less than 10 quilts and most of the time it is more.”
They are currently working on a Veteran’s service project initiated by her daughter. Her daughter provides veterans with free dental care (she’s a dental hygienist) and gives each vet a basket with personal hygiene products, a hat, socks and a blanket. Ernalee has committed to making 100 blankets this year, of which 30 have been completed. Her chapter is very productive and make, on average, 800-1000 blankets per year. Since she began 11 years ago, she has donated 11,135 binkies to children in need.
Ernalee uses a discount from Warm and Natural for batting, gets donated fabrics and yarn. Her group covers Marysville, Everett, Lynwood and Seattle. They meet the first Sunday of each month. She can be reached at ernaleem@frontier.com.