Page 31 - South Mississippi Living - February, 2019

PEOPLE trash to treasure
RECYCLING:
Coast Woman Uses Trash to Help Homeless
story by Alexis Williams photos courtesy of Karen Varnado
Ever wondered what you could do with those plastic shopping bags after you unload your groceries? One Coast woman is recycling your trash to help the homeless.
Karen Varnado, who retired from
the South Mississippi Regional Center, spends her days helping others. Never one to lounge, Varnado says she must stay busy and enjoys making things with her hands. She decided to see if she could recycle grocery bags, and with the help of several YouTube instructional videos, she went to work. Today, she has made more than 150 sleeping mats with plastic bags and given them to those without a home.
“I felt like mats were a need because they can put them under a sleeping bag to keep the cold and moisture off them,” says Varnado. It takes 1,000 shopping bags to make one mat and she also uses plastic garment bags
and even trash bags. “It’s very labor intensive and I have a few other ladies who help me.”
In her work, Varnado uses a really big hook, called a broomstick hook, and has helpers who cut away the handle and the bottom seam and help her roll the plastic into a shape similar to a ball of yarn. She adds a handle to the mats so they can be easily carried.
“There is no cost involved for me,” she adds. “It’s a no brainer. You are recycling something you’d throw away.”
The Mississippi City Methodist Church in Gulfport has a collection box on site for grocery bag donations. Varnado also picks up recycled bags from stores and has others bring them to her.
“Someone told me I was doing God’s work and that encouraged me,” she said. “The homeless have different circumstances. Some are just down on their luck and some choose to live that way.” For Varnado, she’s just glad to be able to help those in need.
She not only uses her talents and hands to help the homeless, but she can also be found volunteering at the Woolmarket Senior Center and with the Harrison County Development Commission as a coastal ambassador, encouraging others to move to the area.
Karen Varnado with one of the handmade sleeping mats.
TO DONATE:
Plastic grocery, garbage or garment bags
MISSISSIPPI CITY METHODIST CHURCH
219 Courthouse Road, Gulfport
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net February 2019 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 31