Popular on Patch: Bethlehem Woods Residents Weave Plastic Bags into Mats for Homeless Vets

The "plarn" mats are actually quite soft and in high demand; some residents have taken to the weaving as a permanent hobby.

Bethlehem Woods Residents Weave Plastic Bags into Mats for Homeless Vets

The "plarn" mats are actually quite soft and in high demand; some residents have taken to the weaving as a permanent hobby.

Plastic grocery bags can serve a variety of inventive purposes—small trash-can liners, dog clean-up, quick storage solution—but one that might not immediately occur is soft, portable bedding. That’s how residents at Bethlehem Woods Retirement Community in La Grange Park have been using them this fall, though—not for themselves, but for homeless veterans. The bags are sliced and twisted into “plarn” (plastic yarn,) then woven together to make a surprisingly comfortable sleeping mat. Not only does the project make good recycling of those plastic bags, and for a good cause, but the finished cushiony mats are impervious to weather and bugs; they are extremely popular among those who have received them, organizers said. “This is a project that …

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La Grange Highlands Students Raise $14,000 for BEDS Plus

La Grange Highlands Middle School students raised $14,000 for BEDS Plus, a La Grange area homeless support organization, at their 3rd Hornet Buzz fundraiser on June 1.

What began as a dare for Tom Hinshaw eight years ago became something more on June 1. On their last day of school, students at Highlands Middle School raised over $14,000 at the 3rd Hornet Buzz fundraiser for BEDS Plus, a La Grange area homeless support organization. Students raised money by signing up to buzz their heads, or get blue feathers put in their hair at the event. A carnival atmosphere was contagious at the event. Basketball shooting contests, a limbo line, an inflatable obstacle course and watermelon-eating contest kept kids entertained while a DJ spun Top 40 hits. "Highlands is such a great community," Hinshaw said at the event. "[Recently] it was just shaving heads, but now it has turned into a full carnival." The fundraiser …

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