Who is ready to give back? We will be having a Day of Sewing for Charity on Saturday, October 19th at the Koelbel Library in Littleton (Meeting Room B) for anyone who wants to contribute to the purpose of Reese’s LairWear. We will be serving the needs of children on the Hematology floor of Children’s Hospital Colorado by finishing as many lounge pants as time will allow. We will be personally delivering everything we were able to complete to the hospital where the nurses will distribute as they see fit for the individual patient.
The story behind Reese’s LairWear is inspired Michelle Loggins’ son Reese. He was diagnosed on January 4, 2019 with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He went through all the chemotherapy and rang the victory bell the day after Mother’s Day that year. He had a wonderful summer of remission before apparent dormant cancer cells reared their ugly head and showed up in his blood work on August 26, 2019. He only got through 1 ½ weeks of the 4th grade before starting over, only this time he was going to need a bone marrow transplant. The treatment was harder on him this time. He also had to go through radiation as well as more chemo before he could get the transplant. Everything was going ok and he engrafted after the transplant. However, it was too much ‘treatment’ for his little body. Michelle lost little Reese on June 10, 2020.
Through his 18 month, 6 day journey, Michelle made so many pairs of colorful lounge pants, masks, knit hats, and even g-tube huggers. Upon his admission back into Brenner Children’s Hospital for his second go around with cancer, Reese was given a custom sign that we hung on his door. He designed it himself. It simply said “Reese’s Lair” with a green tie dye background. Lair is defined as a resting place for a wild animal. It was very fitting since he needed rest from his illness, but when he felt good he was a wild man full of energy. Michelle found it very fitting to name these lounge pants Reese’s LairWear. Reese’s favorite color is a bright green. He loved legos. And he was getting to develop his own style. These pants are branded ‘Reese’s LairWear’ with a green Lego embroidered inside the right pocket. They have an elastic waist band for comfort and a hem cuff, just the way he liked them. Michelle choose cotton woven fabrics that our Reese inspired.
On our day of sewing, we will be finishing as many pants as we can. Michelle will be onsite with us at the Library and she is really looking forward to sharing Reese’s LairWear and his story with everyone, as well as with the children at the hospital. These children need us. Michelle’s mission is two-fold these days; she holds fundraisers in June and September for cancer treatment research. Reese’s LairWear is for the children in the wait. The purpose is to possibly bring a smile to a sick child’s face and maybe for just a moment, he or she could forget where they are. Who is with her on this mission, even if for only a day?
Adapted from the story that Michelle Loggins shared with us for last year’s Charity Sewing Event at the National ASDP Conference held in Denver, CO.
How You Can Help
Donate – The Colorado Chapter of ASDP is currently accepting fabric donations in preparation for the event in October.
The fabrics we are collecting are high quality, 100% cotton wovens that can withstand the high temperatures of the hospital laundry. Two yard cuts and greater are ideal for the pants patterns (please, no cotton blends or flannels). We cannot accept any yardages that are less than one yard.
If you cannot make a fabric donation but still want to contribute, you may make a monetary donation directly to the chapter via PayPal using the QR code below. All donations will go towards purchasing fabric for the October Charity Sewing Event.
Join Us! – Join us at Koelbel Library on Saturday, October 19th starting at 10:00AM and help construct the pants for Reese’s LairWear. We have room B reserved all day and will have stations set-up for each step of the process. Please complete the attached form to let us know you’re coming!
Having trouble with the form? You can access it HERE