Public invited to help the Sleeping Mat Project

UPHS students Aiden Kelly, Charlotte Frederick, Elijah Benner and Ben Drake hold a finished sleeping mat which will be donated to a homeless person

            Upper Perkiomen special education teachers attending a county meeting last spring recognized the potential for a win-win-win venture in the Sleeping Mat Project sponsored by an advocacy group. Now, students and teachers at the high school are ready to take the project public.

            Teachers Shane Thrush, Jen Bamford and Krys Willett joined forces with Integrate for Good (integrateforgood.org) to create sleeping mats for the homeless out of recycled plastic shopping bags. The project not only also helps the environment, but

Library patron Karen Whitaker watches J.D. Joyce make "plarn" for the homeless mats. An estimated 700 plastic bags are used in the making of one mat.

it also promotes interaction between students with disabilities and the community as a whole.

            Integrate for Good, working under the auspices of Angels in Motion (aimangelsinmotion.org), a group focused on helping addicts and their families, was looking to partner with school districts in order to advance its goal of "strengthening local communities by expanding opportunities to students with disabilities to share their time and talent through volunteerism" according to Bev Weinberg, the founder and executive director of Integrate for Good.

            Thrush, who holds the title of Transition Coordinator for Upper Perkiomen School District, said that 15 students from Life Skills, Autistic Support and Multi-disability classes at UPHS are involved in the mat project.

            "The best part of the mat project is students with disabilities get to teach other

Charles Lapinski, right, helps Vicki Thren with a step  in the process of turning plastic bags into sleeping mats.

individuals how to do something," Thrush said.  "It is a very empowering feeling for them. Integrate for Good's goal is for individuals with disabilities to be able to interact with individuals without disabilities on a project together."

            Junior J.D. Joyce, one of the most enthusiastic mat makers, agrees that sharing knowledge has given him new confidence. "I don't do that that often, but I somehow like doing that."

            J.D. sees the making of the mats as an extension of his love for art, especially drawing.

            Sarah Hoover, a UPHS Job Coach who was on hand at the library on Tuesday said, "What I like most about the project so far is that it gives the students a chance to teach other people what to do because it's so rare that they actually can teach other students or staff something new.

            "They taught me how to do each step, and they enjoyed it, even when I'm wrong. They told me how to fix it."

            After months of planning and learning and practicing, the local mat makers from the high school met in public at the Upper Perkiomen Valley Library in Red Hill this past Tuesday. A few library patrons and staff stopped by to see what the students were doing, and a few tried their hands at looming.

            The students and their coaches will return every week from 12 noon to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays--when school is in session--to make the mats, a complicated and time-consuming process. The public is encouraged to come and help out and/or meet the students.

            Mat making involves creating plastic yarn--"plarn"--out of plastic bags and cutting, connecting and crocheting or peg looming. The result is a mat that is three-by-six feet long that can be slept on.

            "In the beginning, it was really difficult," said junior Charles Lapinski. "After a while, me and the kids got used to it, and it got much faster and easier."

            Integrate for Good calculates that 700 bags are repurposed for each mat.

            "I think it's good for the school to help out in the community, coming to the library for everyone to just come together and help out anyone that needs the help," said Joanna Cordero, another UPHS Job Coach.

            Weinberg touted the benefits of the initiative. "While this volunteer experience often helps develop the skills necessary for paid, competitive employment, the experience also helps students view themselves as valued providers of service to their community, not just recipients of service. 

            "By sharing their abilities in this way, the community gains a better appreciation for the ability in every disability, and the stigma surrounding disability is reduced."

            The students are also motivated by the fact that the mats will be going to help others.

            "Most of our students love to help people, and they would do anything for anyone," Hoover said.

            "I think that clicks with them because they're like, 'oh, this is a way for me to help.' Most of them get really excited at the idea of actually helping someone who needs them."

            Upper Perk, North Penn, Upper Dublin and Hatboro-Horsham are the four school districts participating in Montgomery County.