Photos: Something of their own
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
“They will go where they will be loved,” said Ruth Dickinson, right, of pillowcases being made by the Train Station Quilters as she spoke at a news conference at Altamont Village Hall on Tuesday morning. Here, Dickinson works with Reham Shahid, 8, to sew a pillowcase before the press conference started.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Examples of cases in a wide variety of patterns — with trains and trucks, dogs and cats, toys and teapots — were laid out on tables; they will be given to the 175 to 185 foster children in Albany County. The effort is part of the American Patchwork & Quilting “1 Million Pillowcase Challenge” where, across the country, people are making pillowcases to donate to charities; the number on Tuesday was at 616,168 and counting.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
“These kids will have a sense of belonging,” says Patricia De Jesus, at right, deputy executive director for programs at St. Catherine’s Center for Children. Behind De Jesus, from left, three county officials each hold a colorful handmade pillowcase —Executive Dan McCoy, who said, “These pillowcases will give them something to call their own”; Clerk Bruce Hidley; and Sheriff Craig Apple.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Speaking out on behalf of kids in need: Gail Geohagen-Pratt, commissioner for the Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families, says the number of county children in foster care has decreased from 800 to now 175 or 185 who are looking for good, permanent homes.