McCullough Lake senior sewing laundry bags during pandemic

Carol Law of McCullough Lake has combined something she loves with helping others as she waits out the COVID-19 pandemic.

Law, who like so many others, has been holed up at home while riding out the pandemic has turned her attention to creating laundry bags for first responders and frontline workers such as nurses, firefighters and paramedics, using two simple items that many people have lying around – pillow cases and skate laces.

“I really enjoy it. I have sewed all my life,” Law said Saturday. “I wanted to do something to help out and decided this was something I wanted to do.”

Law has dubbed her initiative the Grey County Rainbow Connection.

“We called it that because the rainbow stands for hope,” Law said.

Her daughter Shelley Groenestege came up with the initiative and has been doing the same in Perth County, where she has completed over 100 laundry bags.

“They are for the nurses and the first responders to take a clean pair of clothes with them,” said Law. “Then when they take off their uniform they switch it and put it in the bag and it just washes with their uniform.”

When Groenstege’s story got out on the Internet, she received a call from someone in London, England, about the idea and more than 4,000 of the bags have now been completed there.

So far Law has completed over 30 of the bags, and has also started to make masks as well. She has provided the completed bags to Chatsworth Fire Chief Mike Givens.

Law, who doesn’t have Internet access has been relying on word of mouth to have pillow cases and skate laces donated to her. Anyone who has extra pillow cases or laces they would like to donate can do so by dropping them off at the Chatsworth and Area Fire Hall, 75 McNab Street in Chatsworth.

“It doesn’t matter what they look like,” Law said. “It can be any pillow case.”

Law is also interested in working with others who may be interested in sewing up the bags. They can contact her at 519-794-4213.