WALKER, Mich. — Renee Porter sits in her Plainfield Township living room, surrounded by what most people would consider trash. Donated plastic shopping bags in organized chaos are ready to be transformed.
With practiced fingers and a crochet hook, Porter methodically turns these discarded bags into blankets and pillows—not for herself, but for strangers who need warmth more than she does.
"I feel like they would want to put it over their shoulders, keep the snow and the rain off of them," Porter explained, describing how she envisions her handmade gifts being used by people experiencing homelessness.
The project began with a simple memory—someone Porter had once seen making purses from plastic bags. With an abundance of shopping bags accumulating in her home, she decided to try her hand at the craft. When the purses didn't prove particularly useful to her, she pivoted to something more practical: blankets that could serve multiple purposes for people facing the elements.
"I gave one out to my neighbor, a colleague at work," she said, before expanding her mission. "I did give out a blanket and a pillow last week to a person on Plainfield. I just handed it out to them and said, 'Here, this is for you.'"
The recipients' reactions tell the story of unexpected kindness. While they might initially be puzzled by the unusual-looking fabric, Porter makes sure they understand what they're receiving. "I tell them it's a blanket, and they're usually like, 'Thank you,'" she said. "But I'm sure they figure out when they open it up what they can do with it."
The therapeutic value of the work extends beyond charity. Porter finds the repetitive motions soothing, describing how she enjoys "making the loops perfect"—a trait she attributes to "a little bit of OCD, I guess." The process calms her down while she watches television or simply needs to relax after a long day.
"We've always kind of grown up doing, trying to give little things here and there," Porter explained, noting that she and her daughter have previously assembled care packages for people in need.
What started as a solitary project has begun connecting Porter with like-minded community members. Members of a women's group reached out after seeing her work mentioned on a local Facebook page, revealing that they engage in similar crafting for charity on a weekly basis. The discovery that others share her passion both surprised and delighted Porter.
"People are reaching out to me now saying that, yeah, we have this going on similar, and this going on similar," she said. "And I never even would have known. I just enjoy doing this and then enjoy giving back to the community as much as I can."
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