Ruth Volk Transformed Her Crochet Skills Into Help for Families in Need: A VolunteerMatch Story of Engagement & Social Change

Aug 5, 2010 8:00 AM ET
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(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) - August 5, 2010 - How much does Ruth Volk love to crochet? Let's just say that even after her family and friends gently asked her to stop giving them so many handmade gifts, she just couldn't put her needles down.

Knitting and crocheting just felt right for the Eagan, Minn., resident, and she treasured the creative outlet. She honored the request by hiding her doilies, mittens, hats, and blankets in a drawer. But she certainly missed the joy of giving the gifts she'd poured her heart into.

One day, catching an Oprah episode about volunteering, Volk learned about VolunteerMatch and immediately logged in. A search for "crocheting, knitting, or sewing" in her ZIP code came up with Bundles of Love. Ten years – and countless doilies later – Volk has moved far beyond her own needlework to now being responsible for recruiting and managing dozens of other committed volunteers who are sewing their way to a stronger community.

Click here to read the rest of Ruth's story. | Read more stories of engagement & social change.

About VolunteerMatch

VolunteerMatch is a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities by helping great people and great causes to connect. Our award-winning online service, www.volunteermatch.org, makes it easy to find a way to make a difference by location, expertise, or availability. VolunteerMatch provides many of the nation's most recognized businesses, campuses and organizations with Web-based solutions to facilitate and track volunteer engagement at local and national levels. As the #1 ranking for "volunteer" on Google and Yahoo!, the VolunteerMatch network regularly welcomes more than 190,000 visitors each week and has become the preferred volunteer recruiting service for tens of thousands of participating nonprofits across the country.

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