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René Andres shows off some of the projects she’s created in her sewing room. She spends time throughout the year making items to sell to benefit Wounded Warriors.

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In the December Fountain: Sewing for soldiers
11/24/2014 4:14:15 PM

LL woman uses skills to benefit Wounded Warriors

By Sarah Robertson
Splash Contributor

The holiday season seems to bring out the best in people. The air is festive, and our generosity seems to increase as we prepare to celebrate the holidays and spend time with loved ones.

One woman in Liberty Lake spends all year preparing for the holiday season in anticipation of helping others and sharing her time and talent with those in need.

René Andres, 67, has been an avid seamstress since her aunt taught her to sew when Andres was 12 years old. For the past 14 years, Andres has used her skill to raise money for charity-most recently, the Wounded Warrior Project.

After purchasing a "buy one, get one" turkey and donating them to the food bank one year, Andres decided to sell her sewing projects and donate the money to the food bank. 

"There's something I could do, and it was sewing," she said,

Since then, Andres has organized a craft sale to benefit charity. At first, she sold her goods out of her home. The sale was mostly open to friends and family. After moving into a smaller house, Andres asked to move the sale to MeadowWood Golf Course clubhouse. 

For the last three years, the proceeds have gone to the Wounded Warrior Project. It's a cause that truly speaks to Andres. 

"You see those commercials on TV and those poor young men so wounded," Andres said. "I have two sons and feel so lucky they didn't have to serve. It's my way of giving back. I just want to do all I can."

So she spends all year sewing casserole carriers, purses, hats, bedding and anything else that looks interesting. She donates all the supplies as well as her time with 100% of the profits benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. 

And if you saw her sewing room, you would understand why she is so keen to spend time in it. One wall is floor-to-ceiling shelves with fabric of all varieties. A large work table sits in the middle of the room, and a sewing machine and Serger sit atop desks facing the windows. She even has a storeroom for additional supplies adjoining her sewing room. 

Andres' friends and family pitch in too. Many make and donate jewelry, soap and bath salts, and knitted items. Andres' husband, Bill, helps out too. This year, he made barbed wire crosses, which were quite a hit.

And it takes more help from friends and family to pull off this fete. It takes a crew of about six volunteers to set up, run the sale and clean up afterwards. The sale takes place in mid-November "to beat the holiday rush," Andres said.

Kim Smith of Newman Lake has been helping with the sale off and on for the last 12 years. She has been a faithful volunteer for the last two years. She said her favorite parts of the event are the atmosphere, the people and René's polar fleece blankets.

"It's a great cause, she's a great friend, and it's a fun event," she said.

Smith's kids are a bit older now than when the sale started, which gives her a bit more time to help. 

"My daughter really wants to help with the sale, but it will be a couple more years before she's old enough," Smith said. 

As Andres and Smith will tell anyone, the sale benefits a great cause. The Wounded Warrior Project's vision is "to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation's history."

WWP focuses on four core areas-mind, body, economic empowerment and engagement. Andres is particularly excited to think that the money she raises could be used for track chairs, prosthetics and therapy for wounded soldiers. 

"To think you could give somebody an arm or a leg-wow!" Andres said.

Denis Oliverio, senior major gifts specialist for WWP, knows firsthand how much donations to WWP help wounded veterans. In 2005, he suffered a gunshot wound in the arm while in Iraq. Much of his rehabilitation is due to the efforts of WWP. After 14 surgeries, and what he calls a "rewired and rebuilt arm," he is doing "fantastic." 

Oliverio became a volunteer for WWP-participating in peer mentoring and speaking across the nation on behalf of WWP. The program's latest project is a collaborative effort with four major medical facilities around the country working together to provide more accessible healthcare and mental health services to veterans. 

He credits Andres and her volunteers as examples of the great Americans we have in this country that hear the calling to help out. 

"Their funds are fueling programs that are saving lives…it's absolutely humbling," he said.

It's for men and women like Oliverio-"warriors" as they are called-that Andres is so excited to help. Her donations have been growing steadily over the years. Her first sale brought in $1,500. This year she raised just over $10,000. 

Andres finally retired in 2012-she and her husband owned Brown Bearing on Trent for many years-so she had more time to play and sew. In fact, Andres even has a sewing room set up in her vacation home in West Yellowstone, Mont., and a friend sells her goods there year round with the proceeds going to WWP. 

To learn more about WWP, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

• • • 

Profiles: René Andres

Age
67

Favorite Activity
Aside from sewing, golf

Favorite Restaurant
True Legends

Favorite thing about Liberty Lake
"I can't imagine living anywhere else.  You can always see trees, and I love the golf courses."

Favorite Memory of Liberty Lake
"I remember coming out as a little kid.  It was a big deal to go out to Sandy Beach. There used to be a big swing that would swing out over the lake."


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