MUNSTER – Munster’s Hospice Artisans has been Innovator of the Month by the Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana.
Operating with a business model of 100 percent accuracy, strict quality control and continuing education, nearly 70 volunteers are creating one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted items to benefit the Hospice of the Calumet Area, said Lydia Dershewitz and Pam Sussman.
Ranging in age from 16 to 93, these Hospice Artisans have raised more than $150,000 over seven years producing hand-assembled, intricate items made of paper, fabric and glass often in their own homes. What started with a few volunteers making greetings cards “exploded in a nice way” into a highly motivated and organized team.
Sussman moved to Northwest Indiana in 2006, and wanted to be part of this “instant network” to benefit Hospice.
A nationally recognized paper expert and author on fabric books, she saw an opportunity to enlist the diverse skills of volunteers to make hand-made crafts. Consider the “10-Paper Box” with a four-inch base and a lid made of 10 different decorative papers that take 4 artisans working 10 hours to produce one box. In addition to some items having been sold in Chicago boutiques, the artisans produced 1500 items for a corporate client consisting of a little book for passwords.
Artisans meet once a year for an “idea meeting” and also engage in training to hone skills. “There is nothing new about making things for charity,” Lydia said. “But we’ve taken this to a new level.”
