Her students were more than willing to try, especially when many were isolated at home during the pandemic. Some even had parents or grandparents who taught them how to crochet. “The project took off in a new direction,” Krupp says. At first, she was getting 10 or so mats a semester, then 20 mats and now her students produce anywhere from 25 to 30 mats every semester. Each mat is 3 feet by 6 feet. It requires 12 balls of plarn and roughly 40 hours to make. “It’s a time-consuming commitment,” Krupp says.
For Erica Boaz, a junior psychology major, it’s well worth investing her time. “I’ve worked with the Abuse Counseling and Treatment Center and the Harry Chapin Food Bank, and I knew I could go back to those places and help — I’m sure they need it. But I wanted to use a different outlet and challenge myself to help in a way that I hadn’t done before.”
Helping improve someone’s quality of life with her final product was important to Boaz, even if she wasn’t a natural crocheter. Not at first, anyway. “It was pretty intimidating,” she says. “But it was so satisfying to see it complete. And now I have some calluses on my hands.”
Boaz’ mat will go directly to the Lee County Homeless Coalition, like the other mats created in the program.
“Our clients are very appreciative,” says Michael Overway, the coalition’s executive director. “I’ve experienced it personally.” Overway has distributed supplies, including the mats from FGCU, at local homeless camps. He explains how the mats can help people stay dry if they sleep on the ground or in tents. Once they realize the benefits, they’re grateful to have them, he says. Then they ask, “How did somebody make this?”
That’s the part Overway finds the most amazing. Students are putting in hours of their own time and have the ingenuity to take thrown-away plastic bags and transform them into something useful. “I love that somebody’s great idea also has this incredible downstream benefit,” Overway says.