Once again you can help the Pomona Host Lions turn used plastic bags into sleeping mats for the homeless. On Wednesday, February 13, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the club will be hosting another PlarnFest, where Lions and volunteers will make plarn (plastic yarn) and homeless mats. It will be held in the Sophia Room at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 242 Alvarado Street in Pomona.
The first PlarnFest in January was so successful that subsequent ones have been scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month.
No special skills are required to help. You can sort plastic bags, cut strips from them, and loop-tie the strips into plarn. If you crochet, you can crochet the plarn into the mats. About 300 plastic bags are used to create one adult mat. Last month’s PlarnFest had men and women, from high-school age to retired, working together.
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The sleeping mats are lightweight, water-resistant, insulated and cushioned to help a homeless person’s life on the streets a little less difficult. Mats are given to both homeless individuals and homeless families, who have been displaced by economic hardships. Mats made at the Lions PlarnFests will be distributed through local homeless agencies.
Recycling plastic bags into ground mats has an added benefit of reducing the amount of plastic in our landfills.
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Chairmen for the Mats4Homeless project are Lions Kris Georgeson and Chad Dominguez.
If you can help make plarn, bring a pair of scissors to the PlarnFest. If you can crochet, bring a Q hook. Also, if you have made a ball of plarn on your own or have crocheted a mat, you can turn them in.
The Pomona Host Lions are grateful to the large number of community volunteers and groups, who have been helping make the plastic yarn and the mats. You are definitely helping others.
For further information, email PomonaHostLions@gmail.com or mats4homeless@yahoo.com.
