News & Events | Union Hospital Foundation

The Tribune Star

Published: December 24, 2009 by Sue Loughlin

Sixty-five-year-old Alice Daves doesn’t have any kids of her own, but earlier this year, she spent hundreds of hours in a labor of love to benefit children who are hospitalized.

Daves, a Union Hospital volunteer, decided to hand-crochet 1,000 small “caring crosses” to support the hospital’s pediatrics and neonatal intensive care units. Each cross took about 30 minutes to make, which means the project took her about 500 hours over six months.

They measure about 4 inches long by 3 inches wide and come in a variety of colors.

“God didn’t bless me with any children,” she said Wednesday from her Clinton home. She decided to make and sell the crosses for the benefit of children who are hospitalized. Part of the funds likely will be used to purchase games for the children in pediatrics, to help make them comfortable and take their minds off their hospital stay.

“I want to see a smile on their face,” Daves said.

She donated the “caring crosses” to the Union Hospital Foundation, which is selling them for $1.

First Financial has agreed to make them available at five branches: the main branch in downtown Terre Haute; Meadows Center; Springhill; Plaza North and West Terre Haute.

Each branch was given 140 crosses and began selling them earlier this week.

Richard White, First Financial senior vice president for retail banking, planned to purchase crosses for three grandchildren and a fourth on the way.

“It’s such a heartwarming thing she has done and all the hours she has volunteered,” he said. “We were asked to be part of it to help reach the community.”

Reaching the goal of 1,000 handmade crosses didn’t always come easily for Daves, whose hands at times hurt from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. “They’d want to lock up and I’d have to take a rest,” she said. But driven by her goal of helping children, she kept crocheting.

She decided to make crosses because she’s been crocheting them for several years and believed they could be used for many purposes.

“You can send them to the military overseas or to friends overseas. It’s a way of saying ‘thank you’ or ‘I miss you’ or ‘I appreciate you.’ You can send them in sympathy cards, birthday cards or any-occasion cards,” she said.

People squander $1 on far more frivolous things. “It’s for kids,” she said.

Once finished, Daves gave them to Jim Bertoli, executive director of the Union Hospital Foundation, which has been selling them since August. As of Tuesday, about 250 had been sold, he said.

Bertoli said Daves approached him with the idea last spring. She already had crocheted several and wanted to know if the foundation was interested in selling them, with proceeds to benefit pediatrics or NICU.

Up until now, the crosses have been sold at the hospital through fliers and by word-of-mouth. Some still are available at Union Hospital Time Savers, located in the lobby between Admitting and the Gift Shop.

When she first presented him with the bundle of 1,000 crosses in the Volunteer Services office, he sold 20 in the time it took to go from that office to the foundation office.

Recently, one person bought 100 crosses, he said.

Bertoli describes her painstaking labor of love as “amazing. It shows how compassionate she truly is,” he said. “She loves crocheting and loves helping others.”

Eventually, he’ll sit down with Daves and they’ll talk about how best to use the money. Much of it will probably go to buy video games for children to use while they’re in the hospital as well as toys to give them when they are discharged.

A portion might be used for the NICU family assistance fund, which helps parents pay for such items as gasoline and meals.

Dave, who is retired, has volunteered at Union for about a year, delivering mail to patients once a week. She formerly worked as a hospital and nursing home aide and also in the fast-food business.

“She is a very caring and good person. Anything that has to do with children, she’s right there,” said Janice Adkins, director of Volunteer Services. “She wanted to do all this anonymously.”

Daves is going public for one reason only � to help the children.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.