Riverside Middle students begin lap quilt project to benefit older citizens

Senior Solutions, the Area Agency on Aging for Southeastern Vermont, and Springfield Area Public Access TV, with funding from the Vermont Arts Council, are sponsoring the Intergenerational Lap Quilt Project.

Students from Riverside Middle School in Springfield will spend the next two months making quilted lap blankets for older Vermonters. This project is the brainchild of Marlboro resident Linda Fuhrman, a former NASA engineer and avid quilter who not only originated the concept, but donated much of the fabrics and is the “artist” behind the designs.

The students, under the guidance of Riverside Middle School fiber arts teachers Jessica Shepa and Marguerite Janiszyn, Fuhrman and other local quilters, will design and make their own tactile lap blankets. In the process of doing so, they will learn sewing and quilting skills and have the opportunity to connect with older members of the community.

Around Thanksgiving, the quilts will be presented to participants of a Memory Café, a gathering for people with dementia and their caregivers that is organized by Senior Solutions. Monthly cafés are held in Chester, Ludlow, Brattleboro, Wilmington and White River Junction.

Research has shown that patients with dementia benefit from tactile experiences. Touching a variety of textures can help to stimulate a patient’s existing memories and even bring back those that are believed to be lost. Many of these individuals are often isolated from social interaction, especially with young people.

These quilted lap blankets will provide an opportunity for the aging and the young to interact. This project aims to foster a sense of community among its participants, artistic enthusiasm and pride on the part of the quilters and tactile enrichment for the quilt recipients.

SAPA TV will record the process of quilt creation and the gifting ceremony and will distribute the recordings on social media and to other stations around the state. To view SAPA TV’s programming from anywhere in Vermont, click here.

• Chester’s Memory Café is held on the first Thursday of each month at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 313 Main St.
• Ludlow’s Memory Café is held on the second Tuesday of each month at United Church of Ludlow, 48 Pleasant St. The events last from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. For more information about this project and/or the Memory Cafés, contact project coordinator Joann Erenhouse at Senior Solutions.