Kidney Afghans for Kids

I hear it all the time: "I used to crochet when I was younger!" or "My mom taught me how to knit when I was a kid." What made you give up? Too hard? Too busy? Too boring?
My mom did teach me to knit when I was younger, and a few years later she taught me the basics of crocheting. I would start a project and take two years to finish it. I bought all the gadgets and collected yarn from thrift stores and yard sales. I'd buy pattern books and think about the next gift I was going to create or craft item I would design for around the home.
Finally, after years of just dabbling, I became heavily involved in a project called "Kidney Afghans For Kids" and now my yarn, my skills, and my free time all have a purpose!
Alan Patterson is an old friend of mine, and in 2006 he underwent a kidney transplant (successfully, praise God!). He picked up crocheting again while he was recovering, something his older sister had taught him when he was a child. One day while he and I were chatting on the phone, he developed this idea: What if he collected knitted and crocheted afghan squares from different people, stitched them into blankets, and gave them to children on hemodialysis? It was such a simple idea. They would be Healing Prayer Afghans designed in children's sizes and colors that would be given to kids with chronic renal problems to help keep them warm during dialysis.
The project started on Alan's 30th birthday, March 22, 2008. Since then, dozens of contributors from all over the United States have knitted or crocheted afghan squares to the project. I serve as the volunteer coordinator for the whole state of Florida. I'm also one of the volunteers that pieces the squares together into finished afghans.