On April 11, the following was printed on the Forums page of the Hot Springs Village Voice (HSVV):
“Spring is here and time to re-decorate the bathroom and change colors. What does this mean? You now have perfectly good bath towel sets that can be used by our veterans at St. Francis House. We have been advised the facility is extremely low on bath, hand towels, and washcloths. If you would like to donate gently used towels, call for pick up. Sheila Beatty-Krout.”
Within hours the residents of Hot Springs Village reacted and the towels started rolling in. Staging of towels (inspections, sorting, grouping and packing) was shared by Sheila Beatty and Mary Ellen Laursen. Members and non-members donated money, new towels, and nearly new towels. Each set of towels was tied with a ribbon, and a thank you note to the Veteran was attached.
An appointment was made with Ken Mace, Veterans Director at St. Francis House, for delivery. On May 26, 2017, six weeks after the request for towels was placed in the paper, two SUVs loaded with about 30 large boxes of 273 towel sets (1 bath, 1 hand, and 2 wash cloths) were delivered by Mary Ellen Laursen, Pat McLemore, Frankie & John Ochsner and Sheila Beatty.
Thank you Hot Springs Village for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
