Townsend hopes to fill needs with plastic mats
Published 1:00 pm Thursday, January 11, 2018
- Kathleen Townsend’s grandchildren Drew Williams, Emma Williams and Abby Williams helped her make a mat during the Christmas holiday.
LIVE OAK, Fla. — A Live Oak woman recently felt the pull to make sleeping mats for the needy.
Kathleen Townsend was browsing Facebook and discovered a post about making sleeping mats out of plastic bags.
After some research, Townsend decided to start making mats herself.
“I enjoy working on community projects,” Townsend said.
She added she is always helping her son Len Stapleton on projects for his group, Cooking with a Cause.
To make the mats, plastic bags are cut into strips and tied together to make “plarn” or plastic yarn. The “plarn” is crocheted to make the mat.
“This is tedious and time consuming but not hard,” Townsend said.
Townsend said it takes 700 plastic bags to make a six-foot tall mat with two cinch straps and a carry handle.
Since starting in December, Townsend has completed one mat and is almost done with her second one.
She estimates it takes her 16-18 hours to complete a mat.
“If you have someone make the strips and ‘plarn’ that is a huge time saver,” Townsend said.
Her friends Linda and Bill Riggins are collecting their bags and making the “plarn” for her.
Her grandchildren in Alabama are doing the same for her.
Live Oak Police Chief Buddy Williams made a call for plastic bags on his Facebook page. He said not only have many people donated bags but many also showed an interest in learning how to make the mats.
Townsend said that she is planning on teaching a class but the dates are not scheduled yet.
Williams said Walmart reached out to him after seeing his post and plans to donate 12,000 bags to the project.
Townsend said the sleeping mats will provide insulation for the person sleeping.
“It became an obsession with my heart to fill a need,” Townsend said.
Townsend is not sure how she will distribute the mats yet.
Anyone interested in donating plastic bags, can drop them off at the Live Oak Police Department or at Initially Yours Embroidery at 13705 106th Street, Live Oak.
