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Published on November 14, 2024

Erin Matthew Sewing and Quilt Shop Donates to Tawas Cancer Services Program

Image of two women standing by a table of hand quilted bosom buddies.

Jan Jacobs, owner, Erin Matthews Sewing & Quilt Shop, left, stands with her donation of Bosom Buddies to the MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas cancer services program. Joining her is Rose Goick Saddler, vice president of nursing, MyMichigan Medical Centers Tawas and Standish. 

At the beginning of October, Jan Jacob, owner of Erin Matthew Sewing and Quilt Shop in East Tawas, put out a challenge to the community to support a Breast Cancer Awareness program. As a retired nurse, Jacob wanted to continue to focus on how we can “nurse” and care for people in our community. The program Jacob found was started “ByAnnie,” which is a company that supplies materials to make a variety of bags. 

ByAnnie started the “Bosom Buddy” program and challenged the sewing community to participate. Bosom Buddies are cushions women use to place around a seat belt to reduce the pressure and pain caused by the seat belt on an area receiving chemo or post-surgery. Erin Matthew Sewing was the first store in the United States to accept the challenge. ByAnnie provided the pattern, free of charge, to produce Bosom Buddies.

Looking at the four county census data from 2020, and the prevalence rate of breast cancer in Michigan, Jacob set and achieved a goal of producing 90 Bosom Buddies for the cancer services program at MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas. Participants of local quilt guilds in Hale, Oscoda and Tawas local stepped up to the challenge and helped to meet the goal. Several of the Bosom Buddies have already been distributed to women who learned about the program. Sally Watts made a beautiful quilt and gifted it to Marie Tudor who has been impacted by breast cancer.

Those interested in making a donation to the MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas cancer services program or participating in the Bosom Buddies program may contact Michelle Bacarella, director, MyMichigan Health Foundation, at (989) 362-0159 or michelle.bacarella@mymichigan.org. Additional information is also available at www.mymichigan.org/tawasgiving