Bedford Arts and Crafts Society Creates Community and Gives Back

For years, members of the Bedford Arts and Crafts Society have been giving back to the community by crafting blankets, hats, canes, and cards to support others. Courtesy Image

Submitted by The Bedford Arts and Crafts Society

Members of the Bedford Arts and Crafts Society (BACS) meet most Wednesday afternoons to tackle fresh and challenging crafting projects or to revisit tried-and-true ones.

Once a month they devote their time to ongoing projects that directly benefit the Bedford community. This community service focus is fun and rewarding for everyone involved.

Over the years many local and even national groups have been the beneficiaries of the crafters’ creative energies. Their first community service project involved making fleece and crocheted blankets for Project Linus, an organization that provides handmade blankets to children undergoing illness, trauma, or some other hardship.

Soon after came a commitment to Cardz for Kidz, continuing to this day. Cardz for Kidz sends handmade cards of encouragement to children, hospital patients, the homebound, and others needing an emotional lift. Bags full of cards have been sent to the Bedford VA for holidays through the years.

In addition to these projects, members have decorated canes for the Bedford Council on Aging, which have been distributed to Bedford elders. Crafters have made Christmas stockings for Bedford Food Pantry clients as well.

The arrival of the pandemic in 2020 brought new opportunities to serve others. From that year to the present, the indefatigable BACS crafters went to work knitting hats, mittens, and scarves for distribution to Food Pantry patrons. These bright and toasty handknits have been popular and welcome! 2024 marks the fourth year for the BACS knitters, who this year alone have created 84 knitted hats and various accessories. The card makers in the Wednesday group have pitched into the community-helping-community effort, creating 240 Thanksgiving cards, 180 valentines, and 256 “Happy Spring” cards.

BACS members made 84 hand-knit hats this year, distributed to the community through the Bedford Food Pantry. Courtesy Images

Since 2021 the Bedford Arts and Crafts Society has been supported in these community service projects through yearly grants from the Bedford Cultural Council. BACS is grateful for this support, which helps to fund materials.

Interested in lending a hand to the BACS community service program? Or perhaps you’d like to check out the Wednesday crafting sessions in general? Stop by the COA at 2 p.m. on one of these Wednesday afternoons and see what the clever crafters are up to. Roll up your sleeves and join the crafting party! For additional information about BACS and its art and craft programs, visit www.bacsma.org.