BROOKINGS – On April 13 in the entryway at the Brookings Hy-Vee, a small group of women were doing their part in an annual event to raise an awareness that April is Child Abuse Prevention month, by handing out small blue ribbons to shoppers.
At the same time the women – calling themselves Koinonia Group – were seeking free-will donations to be used for their work in support of children in foster care via Child Protective Services in the Brookings area.
Koinonia Group, which took its name from the Greek word that translates roughly to mean a Christian fellowship or community, got its start in November 2013 when the women held a craft and bake sale and were looking for a recipient for the funds they raised. After looking at several potential recipients, in early 2014 they settled on Child Protective Services.
“OK, there’s our cause,” said Marlene DeBoer. “By March 2014 we named our group Koinonia.” She added that prior to that naming “they were just a group of ladies that met as a crafters’ group.”
In April 2014, Koinonia Group did its first Blue Ribbon handout for free-will donations and in observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month. They have done a similar event every April since that first one.
Free will donations have been very generous over the years, DeBoer said, adding, “I was shocked at how well we did this year.”
She added that the group will hold a rummage sale in July as another way to raise funds. And Hy-Vee receipts will also be accepted from anyone who wants to donate them; they can later be converted to cash.
Funds raised for children in foster care allow Koinonia Group to purchase materials needed to make fleece-tied blankets, bags for personal items and scarves for winter wear.
The funds are also used to purchase underwear and socks (to distribute on “Undy Sundays”), personal care items, diapers, baby wipes, and Christmas and Easter gifts for the children.
DeBoer explained that all the donated money that comes to the group goes into a fund that is used to buy materials for making the blankets, bags and scarves, and to buy the personal clothing items and personal care items that are given to children in protective services. No money ever goes directly to protective services or the children under their care.
Such funds were used to buy Easter gifts for the 63 children now in Child Protective Services.
The group has also been the recipient of three Thrivent Financial grants, with that money being used for advertising, office supplies, and paper goods for their bake sales.
The group now has five women as regular members; add to that number Randy DeBoer, Marlene’s husband, “and a couple of ladies that step in and do whatever they can.”
“Everybody can come in,” Marlene said. “Even the guys if they want to. My husband, Randy, is also part of this group. He helps wherever we need help. He helps tie blankets and does pretty much everything we want him to do.”
The Koinonia Group meets at 2 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month at the Brookings Activity Center. All are welcome to attend and to join and help in the group’s mission: “We’re all about the children. We just go out and do it,” said Marlene DeBoer and Peg Schemmel.
“The Department of Social Services truly appreciates Marlene and the Koinonia Group for remembering children in foster care and their foster parents in our local area,” wrote CPS Supervisor Christine Krogman in an email to the Register. “Koinonia has provided beautiful homemade blankets, holiday gifts and created hygiene bags for children in foster care.
“The items are cherished by the foster children who are displaced from their homes due to abuse and neglect. It is important for foster children to know the community is thinking of them during a difficult time in their life.”
Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.
