“Our ward started really getting into the effort with a wonderful presidency who decided to give service a big focus. Our ward had always done a couple of service things every year, but this presidency took it a step further. It was at the time that the Humanitarian Center opened in SLC and there was a lot of excitement about how much they supplied to get you started. The presidency had us making all kinds of things. There is such an amazing spirit that comes into our ward with this work, it changes everyone’s focus from themselves and puts it on other’s needs. It unifies young and old into a common goal.

The previous presidency had funded projects by getting supplies from the Humanitarian Center and from “carry over” money that they requested from the stake. This is the money that a ward has left over from the previous year. The ward turns it in to the stake and then can request it back for big purchases for YW, and Scouts typically. We always requested it back for humanitarian work and always got what we needed. Then one year there was no carry over money. By now our ward was well known for focusing on service and when we met with the Stake RS Presidency for our once-a-year visit, I told them we were a bit worried because we didn’t know where we were going to get money for our projects in the next year. A few days later there was an envelope on my doorstep that had $1,200 in it. A type written note said it was to be used for humanitarian work. I contacted my bishop and he designated a ward account for us that has been going ever since. It is called Relief Society Special Projects. It is just for our service work.

To contribute to it, you go to “Other” on the tithing slip and write in: Relief Society Special Projects, and away it goes to our account. Once we had that set up we just put the word out and let the ward know how to contribute and what the funds were for. This was more than 10 years ago and we are never without the money we need. Some people put in $10.00 a month when they pay their fast offerings, others put in lump sums. It is remarkable to see people being so generous. We literally go through thousands of dollars every year to keep up our projects and there is always money. When we see it getting a bit low, we just put out the word again for how people can contribute and…wala! There we are with all we need.
For every Enrichment Night, we make sure there is an element of service. If we have a guest speaker, we have fleece blankets on the back of each chair for people to tie while they listen. If we have any kind of activity, it ends with snacks and a table of projects to put together while you visit. We always have items for people to take home and work on. We have branched out, providing for a wide variety of needy organizations. We also do Enrichments where we teach the skills to do the projects. (crochet, knit, embroidery, quilt tying, assemble books, etc) We made it a yearly tradition to use one meeting to go to the homeless shelter to bring and serve dinner.

After one year as a presidency, we did away with the craft “Super Saturday – Fill-your-house-with-a –lot-of-stuff-you-don’t-need” day, and replaced it with a Service Night. It has now been going on for over a decade, and is the highlight of the year. We invite all ward members over 8 to come and spend an evening doing projects. (There is a nursery provided) We do it on Mutual Night, when everyone is available. It is so wonderful to see 200-300 people all working, talking, laughing…kids, parents and youth, all participating and so happy that what they are doing is so needed. We serve pizza and salad, and work for a few hours till we are done. Every year we have projects for different groups. Some include: items for festival of the trees. Little stuffed dolls and hospital gowns for Primary Children’s. Quilts, big and small. Fleece blankets by the ton. Fleece scarves and hats. Painted wooden cars, learning games in folders, shape games that we colored. Embroidery and hand work kits (to teach skills to kids in Africa) Picture books and ABC books that we colored and assembled. Hygiene, baby and school kits. (we do scads of these every year) Crocheting, looming and knitting hats, leper bandages, baby blankets and clothing for deceased babies, the list goes on.
Some of the organizations we have helped have been: March Of Dimes, Homeless Shelters, (Family, Men’s, Women’s, and Youth), Aid in Africa, India, and Mexico, various hospitals and schools, and of course the Humanitarian Center. We have also done a lot of things for individuals who find a need. We sent baby kits with a family to a tiny branch in Bangladesh. We did stuff for a family going to an orphanage in Mexico, we sent crocheted baby blankets with a lady to a group in Zimbabwe, we gave shoes to a school who helps immigrants, just to mention a few.

Doing humanitarian work fits under the category of “if you build it, they will come”. Just DO IT and you’ll find a place!
We have a Humanitarian Specialist called in our ward. They have a committee of about 4 or 5 sisters. Each is in charge of keeping projects going. Besides the service events, we have items out on a table by the RS door that you take and bring back every week. It changes as we find different organizations that we are working for, but we always have yarn for hats (looms, patterns, and other supplies), flannel baby blankets, hemstitched and packaged with cotton string, instructions and patterns for ABC and picture books, fleece scarves to cut and tie, etc. Right now we also have a jar to collect “Box Tops For Education” for our local school and a jar for the pop tops that provide dialysis for kids at Primary Children’s. As different leaders are called, the work continues. At this point, there would be mutiny if a leader ever let this tradition drop!”