Loving and Caring is a program inspired by the healing process after the loss of a child. The Cieri family lost their youngest son, Lucas, to a pool accident in the backyard of their home. When Lucas passed away, the Cieris were inconsolable. All they were left with were very fond memories. One of those memories, was the comfort he got when he held his crocheted blanket. This led Maria, Lucas' mom, to start crocheting a variety of items and give them away as gifts.

She quickly mastered the basic patterns and found herself repetitively surfing the Internet to find new patterns. While researching various sites, she was led to the following website: www.shawlministry.com. Things happen for a reason. This website reminded her of the importance of prayer. The immeasurable comfort people could receive from the combination of prayer with a shawl was noted.

The goals of this program are to give comfort, through crocheted shawls, to those who have suffered a similar loss and to provide baby blankets to homeless and needy babies.. Please help to bring a little bit of comfort to those who have suffered.

Loving and Caring needs two things in order to serve its purpose:

1). Volunteers to crochet or knit

2). Materials such as needles and yarn.

If you can contribute either please contact Maria Cieri at 3boys5@verizon.net or 516-486-6129.