GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Two years ago, Deborah Hawley found herself stuck inside on a cold winter day. Boredom had taken over.
"You have to have something to do," she said.
Her quest for entertainment took her to YouTube, where she saw a video of a woman teaching people how to make mats out of plastic bags.
"That's so cool! And it can really help people," she said.
Hawley intended to distribute those mats to people who are homeless.
"It’s really helpful not to have to sit directly on snow, or on cold ground," she said.
The task also helps the environment. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the average American family uses 1,500 plastic bags per year. Most of them end up in landfills, where they can sit centuries. Each mat keeps about 1,000 plastic bags out of the dump.
The only problem for Hawley was getting her hands on all the material necessary. She reached out to her neighbors in the Leonard Gardens Mobile Home Park for help.
"I had put a notice up at the office that if anybody had bags, to bring me bags," she said.
The notice eventually spread to a cluster of mailboxes, where it caught the eye of Ginny Beld, who has a particular interest in reducing litter.
"I grew up in Coopersville right next to a landfill and saw how the beautiful corn rows turn into a dump and you forever see bags flying everywhere. You see them all alongside the road," she said.
Beld reached out to Hawley. They clicked right away. Beld was not only interested in providing bags, she also wanted to learn how to make the mats. It didn't take her long to pick up the tricks of the trade.
"She’s a mat maniac," Hawley said with laugh. "She can put one of those things out really fast.
The mats take Beld anywhere from 10 to 25 hours to make, depending on whether the bags have already had their handles and bottoms cut off. She works on them whenever she gets some spare time.
"I enjoy just doing it while I'm sitting here and watching TV. Most of the time I’m not really paying any attention because I’ve been doing it so long," she said.
Hawley and Beld believe they've made about 30 mats each. They give them to City Impact in Cedar Springs, which distributes them once per month. The reactions to the duo's good deeds have been overwhelming for them.
"That feeling is more than I could ever ask for. It’s such a blessing," Hawley said.
If you'd like to be a part of the effort, you can visit the West Michigan Mat Mates Facebook page.
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