GG Steinbach
Finding her purpose with a needle and thread
Read on to hear GG's story and how the Blessing Foundation helped.
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Hair loss due to cancer treatments can be devastating, particularly for women.
A longtime seamstress found a way to help through the Blessing Foundation.
Gladys “GG” Steinbach was in her 80s, sitting alone in her Quincy home, and just passing time.
Her children and grandchildren were grown and her days as a busy seamstress were over. She spent her days reading or sitting at her computer, sending emails and checking in on family through Facebook.
She didn’t feel like she was contributing to anything.
“One day my daughter came in and I said, ‘I just feel so useless. I’m sitting here, killing time until I die,’” GG recalls.
Her daughter returned a few days later with an idea that not only would change GG’s life, but the lives of more than a thousand others.
“She said, ‘I know a project that’s perfect for you. Why don’t you use your time and talent – and all that fabric you have – and design headwear for cancer patients?’”
GG found her purpose.
‘We’ll take as many as you want to make’
GG met with Cathy Brogdon, the cancer registrar at the Blessing Cancer Center, and told her she wanted to donate hats and turbans to the Blessing Appearance Center for local patients.
“She said, ‘We’ll take as many as you want to make.’”
Ten years later, GG, now 94, has sewn and donated 1,034 hats, turbans, sleep caps, and scarves.
The project is coordinated through the Blessing Foundation.
“For a lot of women, losing their hair – being bald – is just the biggest devastation, almost equal to having cancer itself,” says Cathy, who was undergoing cancer treatment when she met GG. “This means so much to them. I’ve seen patients in tears because they found something in their style.
“Everything in the Appearance Center is free,” she adds. “This is one expense they don’t have to think about.”
Cathy smiles when a patient gravitates to one of GG’s pieces.
“I say, ‘My friend made that.’ They appreciate the fact that someone hand-makes them.”
A range of colors and styles
GG donated a dozen hats each week for the first few years, until the Appearance Center had a surplus. Now, Cathy lets GG know when the center is low – and she goes to work.
Arthritis slows her down slightly, but GG still can cut out 12 to 24 pieces in a day and sew a dozen in a day. She creates spring and fall collections in various colors and patterns. Her styles range from turbans and headscarves to berets, bucket hats, cloches, and sun hats.
Sleep caps help catch hair that falls out during the night, alleviating the emotional toll of seeing tufts of hair on the pillow.
“I make about three times as many turbans as hats,” GG says. “They seem to like really like the turbans.”
When she hands over a new batch of hats, it makes her day when she hears Cathy say, “I know just the lady who will take that one.”
“She’s touched so many patients,” Cathy says. “We’ve been very blessed to have her.”
‘It’s the least I could do’
GG was recently honored by the Blessing Foundation with a brick in the Founder’s Garden at Blessing Hospital for her generosity.
“It’s the least I could do,” GG says, humbly. “I wish I could do more. … Really, I wish there was not a need for them.”
Her story reminds us that what seems like a small gesture can bring meaning to many. It reminds us of the value of using our time and talents to help others – and it’s never too late in life to start.
What is the Blessing Foundation?
Since 1983, the Blessing Foundation has been giving back to the community that has given so much to all of us. The charitable foundation distribute grants, scholarships and financial assistance to individuals and families to help them on their healthcare journeys.
For more information about the Blessing Foundation or to discuss a donation or gift, call (217) 223-8400, ext. 4800, or email us at BlessingFoundation@blessinghealth.org
