Rockford United Methodist Church may be small in size, but the congregation that sees less than 50 people for Sunday services each week has a big heart.

The quiet little country church rests on a hill off Ewing Street on the north side of Seymour and began serving as a site for volunteers to make blankets for those in need four years ago.

While the church, 1934 N. Ewing St., does not organize the event, they provide the space for the work and many members of the congregation volunteer to help make the blankets.

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The sessions to make blankets for Anchor House Family Assistance Center & Pantry, The Alley, Todd’s Place Transitional Housing and Detox Facility and Don and Dana Myers Cancer Center are open to anyone or any volunteer group.

Jenn Snodgrass and Tonya Disque organized the event four years ago.

Snodgrass is a member of the church, but attends churches in Hartsville and Westport where her husband, Matt, serves as a minister. The couple considers Rockford UMC their home church and were married there.

“We went to church here for over a decade before that, and we’re still members,” she said.

About 10 volunteers — a majority of them from the church — showed up Saturday morning for the first of two workdays to make the blankets. Volunteers will gather again this Saturday for the second workday.

Snodgrass said the goal is to make between 110 to 120 blankets this year. Last year was the group’s highest total at 160 when they were able to purchase discounted material for the blankets.

Pat Lewis, who’s helped with the project each year, has attended Rockford UMC for the past 25 or so years and serves as a Sunday school teacher. She and Janet Dyer — another member — partnered to complete an orange and blue blanket featuring foxes.

Lewis said she liked to picture in her mind the blanket being delivered to a child ahead of Christmas time.

“My imagination goes wild because I can imagine a little boy saying, ‘Wow, foxes,’ and grabbing the blanket” she said. “Any time you can warm a kid up is special. Kids are my thing.”

Dyer said she enjoys the project for that reason, too. Helping those who need it and working alongside volunteers is why she dedicates time to the effort.

“I keep thinking about all the people who will be a little warmer this year,” she said. “I also enjoy the fellowship and meeting different people.”

The work is simple, Snodgrass said, but it goes a long way to make a difference for those in need.

“If you can tie your shoes and use a pair of scissors, you can do this,” she said. “Pretty much everyone can do it.”

Volunteers already have two pieces of fabric cut in 6-foot lengths and placed together for those who make the blankets. After spreading them out on a table, you cut a square in each of the four corners. Then you cut slits in the fabric one inch apart all the way around the edge of the blanket. The final task is tying the cut pieces of each fabric together in a double knot.

If four people are working on a blanket, she said it typically takes about 20 minutes to complete.

“Some people come in and stay for an hour and some stay the whole day,” Snodgrass said. “We probably have 50 or 60 that come between the two weekends.”

She said it’s a great project for service groups or youth. She and Disque started it after hearing about Anchor House during a Jackson County United Way presentation.

They heard from then-director Deb Bedwell talk about the Anchor House’s work in the community and decided to help out. They expected to make 10 blankets, but realized just how many the organization served.

“She said she could take 100,” Snodgrass recalled.

So the two set out to organize volunteers and make blankets. The first year, the group made 105.

The project has now become part of a Christmas tradition for many people, Snodgrass said.

“People love to do it,” she said. “I’m pretty sure I couldn’t stop doing this if I wanted.”

Snodgrass said people enjoy it because they know they’re making a difference with every knot they tie.

“It’s really awesome because you’re doing so much good, but you’ve had fun doing it,” she said. “This isn’t work at all, but you can still make such a huge difference.”

Lewis and Dyer said it also helps that Snodgrass is a good cook. Volunteers are served breakfast and lunch while volunteering.

“She makes great food,” Dyer said.

But Snodgrass knew when she set out to do this project four years ago that she could count on the church that shaped her and continues to serve the community.

“They have a great facility and they’re always so supportive and it’s a great location,” she said. “It was the best place I could think of to do it.”

When all the blankets are done, the congregation will gather for a regular service and pray over the blankets.

It’s an extra touch of warmth this church gives, showing how much it cares.

“This church is a family and we do a lot with the community,” Lewis said as she started another blanket.

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Help make blankets for Anchor House, Todd’s Place, The Alley and the Don and Dana Myers Cancer Center.

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Rockford United Methodist Church, 1934 N. Ewing St. in Seymour.

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