GREENFIELD — Sarah Wodin-Schwartz was on a Zoom call celebrating her mother’s birthday when her mother’s friend, Mary McClintock of Conway, noticed Wodin-Schwartz’s hands were busy.
“She asked me what I was doing,” said the Mohawk Trail Regional School and Smith College graduate, who is now a mechanical engineer and assistant professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “I showed her I was crocheting an octopus’ tentacle.”
McClintock, who works for Community Action Pioneer Valley, asked her what her plans were for the critters — Wodin-Schwartz showed her the various creatures she had crocheted — and she responded that she wasn’t sure. McClintock encouraged Wodin-Schwartz to reach out if she was interested in giving the crocheted critters to a program that would distribute them to children in need.
“I said I’d love to pass them along to such a program,” she recalled.
Wodin-Schwartz recently donated numerous crocheted critters to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin, a nonprofit based on Wisdom Way that works with children who have been sexually or physically abused and their families.
Children’s Advocacy Center Case Manager and Multi-Disciplinary Team Facilitator Samantha Staelens said a critter will be placed in the agency’s comfort bags, which are given to children who have been sexually or physically abused, after they have been interviewed and are ready to go home.
Wodin-Schwartz said she learned to crochet just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and she is very glad she did — it has kept her hands busy through many Zoom meetings and phone calls for her job and with her family.
“My mother-in-law showed me how to crochet,” she said. “She made it look very easy. The rest I taught myself by watching videos and reading. I thought the little creatures would be easy and quick to start. I like it because it’s methodical, you just follow the instructions and go.”
Once she began to pick up steam, the critters started to pile up and she wasn’t sure what she’d do with them, until she connected with McClintock. There are octopuses, pigs, flamingos, koalas, dragons and more.
Staelens said she is so grateful for Wodin-Schwartz and others in the community.
“This community always comes through for the Children’s Advocacy Center, and we feel the support and generosity,” Staelens said. “During the pandemic, we not only saw sexual abuse, but physical abuse of children. Our sexual abuse numbers were down for a while and we’re not sure why. Maybe because children weren’t in school, so teachers and others weren’t noticing the changes in their behavior. The numbers started climbing again in January, when children started going back to school, at least a few times a week.
“Things like the critters give children a warm feeling after a traumatic ordeal,” she continued. “We accept all types of donations, but the homemade gifts allow the children to feel the thought and kindness behind them. They carry them home after being incredibly brave and it helps them experience some hope and relief.”
Wodin-Schwartz said that’s all she could hope for with her crocheted critters.
“They were filling up a room in my house,” she said. “Now, I know they’ll make some children a little happier, a little more comforted during a tough time. I’m just happy they’ll do some good.”
The Children’s Advocacy Center operates largely on federal and state funding and grants, and also accepts monetary and other donations.
The model the agency uses involves law enforcement and child protective services acting first to make sure a child is safe from an abuser. The child is then brought to the center on Wisdom Way, where the joint investigation and interview begins. Once the case has been reviewed, decisions are made about how to proceed, including whether the case is presented to the district attorney for prosecution. A suspect is either charged or the case is refused.
The Greenfield center was closed for several months after the pandemic hit the area, but has since reopened and is seeing children and their families in person at the house. Plexiglas has been installed and everyone must wear a mask when in the building.
For more information about the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin or to donate, call 413-475-3401 or visit cacfranklinnq.org.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.