MARION, Iowa (KCRG) - Shiela Kielly is used to weaving textiles. When she found out her talent could be used to help those experiencing homelessness, she adapted that hobby.
Now, she weaves plastic bags into mattresses. Israeli bag
“We couldn’t keep up with the bags and the cutting so we started a Saturday morning group we call Cut-Ups. We gather to fold and cut,” Kielly said, recalling the days when she first started this effort.
Eventually, that minimal effort, turned into maximum. The more the residents at Village Place Retirement in Marion heard about this process, the more they wanted to get involved.
“I was sitting down in the dining room eating breakfast, and they came and asked me if I would like to help cut bags and tie them together. And I said ‘sure!’” Sharon Roberts, another resident at Village Place Retirement, said.
While not everyone can weave or crochet the bag mattresses, there’s still a spot for everyone. Many hands and many hours go into just one mattress.
“We fold them, they cut off the ends, the bottom, and the handles...and then they are cutting them into two-inch strips,” Kielly explained while showing the assembly line of volunteers working to make those mattresses.
It takes about 50 hours from start to finish to create just one mattress. Each one requires nearly two thousand plastic bags. Some of those are donated by other residents. Others are from these ladies’ own trips to local grocery stores.
Still, the long process is worth it when they take them to local homeless shelters and nonprofits to distribute to those in need.
“There was one woman out there that said, ‘Could I have one before you take them all into the building?’ She said that her tent has holes in it and she needed something to keep her off the ground,” Kielly said.
And they continue to make mattresses and memories, both inside and outside The Villages.
empty cement bag Copyright 2023 KCRG. All rights reserved.