IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Not even a pandemic can stop the crafty bunch of volunteers with the non-profit Lap Robes for Veterans.
The group has sewn dates on the calendar again and is making as many lap robes as possible to give out to veterans.
Jackie Lynn’s Fabrics in Irondequoit is Lap Robes for Veterans sewing headquarters. For the past 14 years, women from all over the area, from Livonia to Greece to Canandaigua, volunteer their time to sew lap robes for veterans. Last year, even during COVID, they made and gave out more than 1,000 lap blankets to veterans.
Leading this mission is Lap Robes for Veterans founder Nancy Collier Van Apeldoorn. She's a dedicated Marine wife who can cut fabric for days. Nancy and her crew of volunteers have cut, sewn and stitched 14,000 lap robes since she started the non-profit. It’s a small gesture of warmth and comfort for the men and women who serve and protect.
“Persevere and overcome," Van Apeldoorn said. “All of my volunteers love our veterans. Some of them have never had a veteran in their family. Some of them carry lap robes with them. So when they are at dinner they will give out a lap rope to a veteran when they see one. We are doing a lot of individuals and nursing homes, hospice and Gold Star Mothers.”
Lap Robes for Veterans is entirely dependent on donations of both money to buy supplies and fabric donations to make the blankets. Nancy and her husband Bruce are moving to North Carolina to be closer to family, so they are counting on the volunteers to continue their lab robe mission of thanks and appreciation for all our nation’s veterans.
“My volunteers are so committed that some of them belong to other groups,” Van Apeldoorn said. “And they said if they had to pick they would definitely stay with Lap Robes for Veterans if they had to give something up. I am so grateful."
“We are going to try,” Pat Vanhagen, from Lap Robes for Veterans, said. “Her shoes are going to be very hard to fill that’s for sure.”
If you'd like to support the mission you're welcome to send a check payable to:
FLACE Lap Robes for Veterans
1062 Railway Crossing
Webster, NY 14580