Diagonal Yarn Club evolves into new business
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
by Jackie Hopkins
What started as a school Mother’s Day project has blossomed into a community business.
Background
The Diagonal Yarn Club was formed in April of 2017. A HELP Grant of $275 was received to fund a Mother’s Day Project. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade were taught crochet and weaving skills, which were used to complete a Mother’s Day gift. These were taken home right before Mother’s Day of that year.
In September of 2018 a new grant of $500 was received from the Parrot Head Club in Ellston. The money was used to buy crochet materials for all students in the Diagonal Yarn Club. The second through fifth grades were instructed in the skills of crochet.
During the 2018-2019 school year the Diagonal Yarn Club received instruction from Marygrace Davenport and Jackie Hopkins on Wednesday afternoons each week. Soon, advanced crochet students became trainers and worked one-on-one and with groups of students. Students were also permitted to crochet during guidance classes.
A business emerges
Forming a company was discussed in guidance classes. The purposes of a business and what to do with money earned were discussed. We talked about community and about the Diagonal community’s working together to accomplish goals they’ve set. We discussed “giving back,” what that meant and how we, as a company, could give back. We explained the business model and elected a Board of Directors. We made a group decision about crocheting dishcloths, scrubbies, and potholders to sell during the 2019 Labor Day Celebration (test marketing) and at home volleyball and basketball games during the 2020 school year.
Materials were procured, membership forms signed, and a Diagonal Yarn Club Business was started.
The goals of the business are:
• Teach a leisure activity that can help a child with focusing skills
• Have pride in project completion
• Learn a way to make gifts for loved ones
• Help to develop eye-hand coordination and spatial relationship skills
• Learn how to read a pattern (to foster a sense of independence)
• Develop a sense of community through decision making on how students want to use some of the money within the community
• Continue to support the yarn club by “paying back” the grant
• Reward the children’s product completion
• Teach children how to raise their own funds through advancing their yarn skills
• Teach children how to serve the greater Diagonal Community through volunteering
2019-2020 school year
The Diagonal Yarn Club was granted an additional HELP Grant from the Dekko Foundation of $800 for the 2019-2020 school year. This financial assistance is greatly appreciated.
The Diagonal Yarn Club crocheted into the 2019-2020 school year by participating in the Diagonal Community Labor Day Celebration on September 1-2. We set up a table near the concession stand to inform the community about the Diagonal Yarn Club and show Diagonal students’ crochet skills.
A big thank you goes out to these Diagonal students who stopped by to help set up, take down, and demonstrate crocheting: Brooklyn Brown, Addi Burton, Aspen Egly, Aden Estes, Chloe Estes, Gage Estes, Avery Grace, Hailey Grandfield, Kylie Spencer, and Cayleigh Woollums.
Weekly meetings (Tuesdays from 1:40 to 2:40 p.m.) have begun. On Tuesday, September 24, Marygrace Davenport and Jackie Hopkins began crochet instruction with all students new to crochet while other students crocheted on their own or worked on weaving pot holders.
The 2019-2020 Yarn Club board of directors includes President: Ashlynn Allee; Vice President: Aden Estes; Secretary: Keaton Lynn; and Treasurer: DaMerica Smitts.
