Martha and Mary Circle sews frogs for kids VIEW GALLERY (use arrowkeys for navigation) By Fabvienen Taylor
JACKSON —When thinking of something to cuddle, to snuggle up with, a slimy, web-toed frog doesn’t leap to mind. Unless, they are the multi-colored squeezable ones sewn for troubled children by members of the Martha and Mary Circle at St. Peter Parish.
“It is a very loving way to reach out to children with serious problems in our Therapeutic Foster Care Program,” said Linda Raff, executive director of Catholic Charities. Circle members recently delivered 25 frogs to Charities.
Being of service to others is the primary focus of the circle, which was organized about four months ago and meets on the fourth Saturday each month. It was named for Martha and Mary from Luke 10: 38-42 in Scripture.
After establishing the circle, members began brainstorming for projects to work on, especially for children at Catholic Charities, said member Beverly Johnston. By chance she attended a frog-themed birthday party for a child and saw a frog someone had sewn. She took the idea of making the frogs back to the circle.
“I’ve sewn a lot of children’s clothes and have culled pieces of fabric left over,” she said. “The frog was so cute and I knew we could do it,” said Johnston.
The women hopped to it, collecting rainbow-colored pieces of cloth with stripes, squares, prints and solids for the frogs. The effort culminated with a “frog work day” on a recent Saturday.
“The ladies cut the pieces of cloth into squares, laid them out, and sewed them together into a big piece of fabric, which was then quilted with batting,” said Johnston.
Using a pattern, the fabric was then cut into 15-inch frogs and stuffed. At their last meeting, circle members viewed the frogs, pointing out their favorites
“We had a lot of fun,” said Johnston. “The ladies wanted to know when we could do something like this again.”
director of Catholic Charities. Circle members recently delivered 25 frogs to Charities. 
