The Sandpiper Project Story
A miracle paid forward. What will you do in your next five years?
Think about where you were five years ago. Think about how much has changed in your life since then. Think about what was important to you then, and what is important to you now.
The Sandpiper Project started with a family in Corvallis, some fabric, and a desire to pay forward the kindness they had received during one of the most difficult periods of their lives. A lot has changed for them since then as well.
Now, celebrating its 5th anniversary, The Sandpiper Project has transformed an idea into more than $108,000 raised for organizations supporting children and families. They have delivered more than 1,350 quilts (and more) to children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses. They have created a community of people. A community stretching so far beyond our city limits… that this is almost no longer a local story.
The story, however, did start here, with a 16-year-old girl named Elizabeth Arnold.
Lizzie was a normal teenager going to school in Corvallis, cheerleading, working weekends, and thinking about college when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
This is an extremely rare diagnosis for someone her age. One in a million.
Doctors found a two-pound tumor. Lizzie underwent surgeries, hospital stays, and several rounds of chemotherapy before reaching the moment so many cancer patients and their families hope for, but don’t always get.
She was cancer-free.
Part of this life experience also introduced the Arnold family to a network of people and organizations that help families when a child becomes seriously ill. One of those organizations was Make-A-Wish.
Lizzie’s wish took her to London for the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour, something that held a special connection to her childhood. Her father often read the Harry Potter books to the family, and they would watch the movies after finishing each book.
Beating cancer is a win. And some people just take a win. The Arnold family did not just take a win… they took the win, and now they wanted to give back.
“We started this project as a pay-it-forward moment and raise awareness of the care my daughter, Elizabeth (Lizzie), and our family received,” Lizzie’s mother, Monique Arnold, told The Corvallis Inquirer. “We truly did not know the power or the impact.”
There was another part of the story unfolding at the very same time.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, while we were hoarding masks and toilet paper… Monique, Lizzie, and her sister Torie began sewing masks. Over roughly six months, the family crafted more than 4,000 of them.
That process left behind a lot of fabric scraps. Those scraps led to an idea. Why not turn them into quilts?
The mask sewing, paid forward to quilt making, which paid forward to so much more.
The family started making quilts for children in hospitals and families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses. Lizzie got a role as a Make-A-Wish Ambassador and was given an opportunity to raise $2,500 towards granting another child’s wish.
The family began making and auctioning quilts to raise the money. They didn’t raise $2,500. They raised about $7,000 in the first four months. The Sandpiper Project was born.
They quickly found that plenty of other people wanted to help. They reached out to local quilt shops, other shops outside the area, bloggers, and people in online sewing and quilting communities.
Quilters joined in. So did knitters. So did crocheters. And a community was built.
“The Sandpiper Project was born from a deep desire to bring awareness to childhood cancer and other critical childhood illnesses and to help fill the many gaps families face from diagnosis through treatment, recovery, and, when necessary, end-of-life care,” Arnold told us.
Now, five years later, the numbers tell part of the story.
The Sandpiper Project has generated $108,711 in direct donations benefiting 14 organizations that serve children and families. The project directs donations through links provided by the organizations it partners with, an intentional effort to keep fundraising transparent.
Its partners have expanded far beyond that original Make-A-Wish fundraiser.
They now include Make-A-Wish chapters in Oregon, Alaska, Washington, and Idaho; Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon & Southwest Washington; Children’s Cancer Association; Camp UKANDU and Camp UKANDU Family Camp; See You At The Summit; Happy Bundles Organization; Sam Day Foundation; Ryan’s Case for Smiles; Ladybug House; Maggie’s Angels; Assistance Dogs Northwest; and Every Child Oregon.
Together, those organizations touch children dealing with cancer, serious illnesses, hospitalization, foster care, and other major challenges.
Sandpiper members now make pillowcases, receiving blankets, self-binding blankets, knitted and crocheted blankets, NICU hearts, quilted hearts, quillows, and other handmade comfort items.
Some of these items go to children receiving treatment at Doernbecher OHSU Children’s Hospital, Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, and Shriners Children’s Portland. Others go to families staying at Oregon’s Ronald McDonald Houses or to children in foster care through Every Child Oregon.
Thousands of other comfort items have followed, including stuffed animals, socks, blankets, Adventure Packs, books, and items for babies in neonatal intensive care units.
Can it get any better? It can.
In 2024, they started a summer pillowcase challenge after a Sandpiper member discovered Ryan’s Case for Smiles, a program that provides colorful pillowcases to children undergoing treatment.
Guess what? The Arnold family already knew of that program. Lizzie had received one of those pillowcases during her own cancer treatment.
The Sandpiper Project began as Lizzie, Torie, and Monique Arnold, all making an effort to repay some of the kindness their own family received. Eventually, other people began paying it forward alongside them.
“As we begin our thoughts for the next five years, our anniversary of our first five years comes with so much gratitude for the wonderful community that not only walks beside us, but they ARE also the PROJECT,” Arnold told us.
This family wondered what they could do for the next family. An entire community helped them to answer that question. Which begs another question.
What will you do in your next five years?
You can find more info about The Sandpiper Project, and ways to help at these links below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/391673602349315/
https://seeyouatthesummit.org/sandpiper-project
https://www.instagram.com/thesandpiperproject/
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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Do you have a story for The Inquirer? Email: editor@corvallisnow.com
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