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Totes for Tots are full of love for sick kids

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN Michelle Bearden Michelle Bearden

mbearden@tampatrib.com mbearden@tampatrib.com mbearden@tampatrib.com

Published: October 24, 2009

DADE CITY - How does Dorvan Cofield love Diana, his wife? Let him count the ways.

The first time he met her, at church, he saw her give her last few dollars to a missionary.

His inkling that this was one special lady led to a friendship, then romance. Both had been married before. He was 62 and she was 64 when they decided to give marriage another whirl.

Eleven years later, he knows it was positively the right thing to do.

"She visits the sick in hospitals and nursing homes. She's made costumes and banners for our church's Christmas program. She's in the middle of reupholstering all the church's pews and seats. She teaches a ladies' Bible class every Sunday. She started a women's sewing circle at church," Dorvan reels off. He could go on, but instead, he sums it up.

"She is a housewife who cleans, cooks, runs errands and takes care of me and our two dogs. This is a soon-to-be 76-year-old woman who is dedicated to her faith and God."

Let me tell you more about Diana.

A year ago, I wrote about her ministry, Purses With a Purpose. A custom seamstress with 52 years experience, she began making quilted bags from fabric swatches a few years ago to help raise money for granddaughter Olivia's mission trips.

Her bags look a lot like designer Vera Bradley's line. But the difference is they cost only $25 to $45, and they're not made in China. They're sewn on Diana's two trusty Singers: a century-old Prussia-made model, purchased for $50 on eBay, and a 1952 number, a $10 bargain found at a garage sale.

We've already established that Diana is a very busy woman, from her volunteer work with First Baptist Church of Dade City, to her and Dorvan's combined clan of six children, 11 grandkids and seven great-grandkids. Add her sewing ministry, and there aren't many hours left in the day.

But she believes God never gives you more than you can handle. So when another opportunity came her way to put her purses to good use, Diana didn't shy from the challenge.

Wanting to do more

It started with a customer who bought one of the Sew Happy bags last year. The woman mentioned that her nephew's 6-year-old daughter, Morgan Pierce, had been diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, and asked for prayers.

Diana could do that. But she wanted to do more. So she offered to make a tote bag for Morgan, to cart her favorite possessions back and forth to the hospital for treatment. The little girl loves Hannah Montana, the Disney TV character played by Miley Cyrus, so Morgan got a Hannah Montana tote.

Morgan's older sister Ally wanted a bag, too. What color? Diana asked. Pink camouflage, Ally said.

Made sense to Diana. That's the symbol of a brave warrior.

That's when the idea of Totes for Tots came to Diana. After meeting Morgan, she knew this could be a small contribution to children battling for their lives. She would make pink camouflage totes - the color signifies cancer, the pattern stands for warrior - and donate them to pediatric oncology units.

"Each and every one of those totes is packed full of love, prayers and positive thoughts," she says.

Diana has met several of the young recipients. When possible, she hand delivers her gift. It makes their struggle more personal, and when she returns home to work on the next bag she prays with renewed vigor.

"I ask the Lord for a cure, with every single stitch. He knows what's in my heart," she says.

You can hear the weariness in Morgan's dad's voice. Clint Pierce, an electrician from Plant City, was caught off guard when his healthy daughter was diagnosed in November. It started with a little pain in her right hip, and now this.

"It was a real kick in the gut," he says.

Gesture humbles father

The community has rallied around the family, whose medical bills keep skyrocketing despite good insurance coverage. They had to go to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York to have Morgan's stem cells harvested.

A tote for Morgan and Ally may not seem like much, but it's a gesture that humbles Clint.

"Big or small, any show of kindness means so much," he says. "And this came from someone we didn't even know. I've been so touched by all of this. It lets you know there are people out there who really care."

So now you know the rest of the story. What began as a grandmother's contribution to her granddaughter has evolved into another act of kindness. Diana can rattle off the names of the youngsters - Bella, Sammie, Grace and Cole, just to name a few - and offer links to the Web sites set up by parents.

She feels their joy when blood counts are good and cheeks are pink; she is tearful when fevers spike and hair falls out from chemotherapy. Some of the kids don't make it. That's painful, but as a woman of deep faith, she believes they've gone to heaven where they're healthy and happy again.

There is no slowing down for Diana. She sews deep into the night on her tireless mission to give a little pick-me-up to a child who needs it.

"I will be doing this until the Lord calls me home," she declares. "And when he does, I hope he can say to me, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Well done.'"

It's easy to understand why Dorvan loves Diana. He got his second chance in life, and he didn't let it pass him by.

See Diana Cofield at work on Michelle Bearden's "Keeping the Faith" segment at 9 a.m. Sunday on WFLA-TV. You can learn more about Totes for Tots at www.purseswithapurpose .info or by calling (352) 523-0747.

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