Vol. 18, No. 17Jan. 21, 1999

Employee enjoys volunteer work

Janice Atchley has always loved children and has been sewing most of her life. So, when she saw a notice that volunteers were needed to make quilts for children with HIV/AIDS, she signed on.

"I've been a volunteer in different youth activities-in church and with youth bowling leagues, including the Delaware State Bowling Association, especially when my own children were growing up. Making quilts for HIV/AIDS children was such a worthwhile project, and since I'm also interested in learning to quilt and meeting some quilters, this was a natural for me," she said.

She spent a day making quilts with members of the "Loose Threads," a group of fabric artists associated with the Newark Arts Alliance, and other volunteers. "Some of us cut, some sewed squares together, some ironed and pinned. My job was finishing the quilts and knotting the fronts and backing together," Atchley said.

An office coordinator in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Atchley received a degree in criminal justice from the University in l976 and was a probation officer for some years. Her background is a plus in her job in the center where she is responsible for writing the annual report and was involved in arranging an open house in the center's New York office.

Photo by Robert Cohen