Charlie Pinkus, Past President of the Coronado Hospital Auxiliary, has recruited Katy Green, head of the auxiliary’s Quilt and Afghan Committee to help bring joy to San Diego children. Pinkus, a member of the San Diego Fine Woodworking Association, makes handcrafted doll cradles and Green’s quilters make tiny bedding for them. The cradles are distributed to nonprofit organizations throughout San Diego County.
How did this collaboration begin? It turns out that Pinkus and Green share a passion for both handcrafted items and giving to those in need of cheer. Pinkus, a retired university professor indulged his interest in woodworking after he moved to Coronado in 1999, taking a class at a local community college. He subsequently joined the Woodworking Association and in 2010 set up a small group in Coronado to create wooden toys. They met once a week in his home workshop and donated their toys to the association to be distributed to twenty or more nonprofit organizations. In addition to the creation of wooden toys, Pinkus and other association members wrote a book, Constructing Wooden Toys, including the directions for making his cradles.
Green, a retired nurse who enjoyed a long career at Sharp Coronado Hospital, spearheads the auxiliary’s Quilt and Afghan Committee. Each year a group of a dozen volunteers create as many as eighty lap quilts that are donated to the Coronado Villa clients, the hospital sub-acute patients, and Sharp Hospice patients.
Fast forward to the pandemic, when Pinkus became an active volunteer in the Hospital Auxiliary, serving in the Covid vaccination clinic. He then served as vice president and president of the auxiliary board. He offered his handmade wood toys to be sold at the auxiliary’s holiday fundraiser. At that same function, some of the quilts and afghans made by Green’s group were being sold. Pinkus and Green put their heads together to ask the quilters to make tiny bedding for the doll cradles. Since then, the quilters have made dozens of adorable pillows and blankets to accompany Pinkus’ cradles.
Today the cradles and other wooden toys are distributed to numerous nonprofit organizations, such as: Home Start, a child abuse prevention and treatment agency; Educational Enrichment Systems, which offers free and reduced cost preschool; and Jewish Family Services through their free diaper distribution program.
While Pinkus enjoys his woodworking, he encourages residents to consider volunteering through the Coronado Hospital Auxiliary. “While I enjoy woodworking, I encourage residents to consider volunteering through the Coronado Hospital Auxiliary. There are so many ways to contribute to those in need of compassion and caring,” said Pinkus.
For more information at the Coronado Hospital Auxiliary, contact [email protected] or call 619-522-3675.
