The Charlotte Jewish News- May 2026- Page 10
A Life in Stitches
By Elizabeth Johnson
On a recent Thursday afternoon, the back door at Lynn Edelstein’ s home stood open, as it has been for years. Inside, the evidence of her life’ s work is everywhere: skeins of yarn in saturated colors draped across the dining room table, a stunning framed needlepoint gracing the wall of a hallway, and two bedrooms repurposed into storage for materials and finished pieces. It is part workshop, part gathering place, and wholly something else.
What began more than five decades ago as a simple fundraising idea has become one of the most sustained, deeply human acts of giving in this community. In the
Lynn Edelstein and Judy Marco
By Zack Tabachnikoff
For more than a century, BBYO has empowered Jewish teens around the globe to lead, connect and build something larger than themselves.
What began in 1924 as a small fraternity of 14 young men in Omaha, Nebraska— Aleph Zadik Aleph( AZA)— has grown into a worldwide movement reaching more than 70,000 Jewish teens each year.
Today, BBYO spans more than 735 chapters across 63 countries, creating a network where teens explore identity, form lasting friendships and develop leadership skills.
Through planning programs, mentoring peers and building chapter culture, they create traditions that extend well beyond their time in the program, early 1970s, Lynn’ s then-husband, Sam Lerner, was serving as treasurer of Charlotte Jewish Day School when he asked her to think of ways to raise money. Lynn responded by starting Yours Truly Needlepoint & Knitting, with a clear intention: every dollar would go back to the school. From the beginning, the work was rooted not only in knitting, but in needlepoint as well, a craft that remains just as central to the business today.
A few years later, the work took on a different meaning. During a visit to Levine Children’ s Hospital with her daughter, Julie Levine, and her grandchildren, Lynn encountered the kind of moment that reshapes a
grounded in Jewish values.
“ During my time working with teens in BBYO, I witnessed them form friendships that truly last a lifetime,” said longtime former staff member Ellen Goldstein.“ They stepped into leadership roles, learned responsibility and navigated both challenges and successes. BBYO instills a deep appreciation for Jewish values and a lasting commitment to giving back.”
That sense of connection is most visible at BBYO’ s International Convention( IC), a fiveday experience drawing more than 5,000 teens. With Shabbat, service, speakers and performers, IC offers an opportunity to connect with peers from around the world. While BBYO’ s reach is global, its impact is often felt most life. She left with two thoughts: she would never return, and she would do something for every patient there. She chose to knit. What followed has grown far beyond anything she could have imagined. To date, nearly 20,000 blankets have been delivered to local hospitals, including Levine Children’ s Hospital and Atrium Health Hemby Children’ s Hospital. Alongside them there are more than 30,000 chemo caps distributed to oncologists and infusion centers across Charlotte, each one made by hand and offered freely. While the knitted items are given directly to Levine Children’ s Hospital, all proceeds from sales are directed to charitable causes, extending the reach of the work far beyond Charlotte.
Today, the work moves through a rhythm the community knows well. On Wednesdays, Lynn sits at Levine Jewish Community Center, greeting passersby with her warm smile, knitting and selling items, with proceeds directed to local hospitals.
On Thursdays, her home fills. Some come every week. Others arrive for the first time, having heard, somehow, that there is a place where they can contribute. People bring what they have made. They sit. Lynn provides the materials for many of them, keeping more than 1,000 yarn balls on hand so that anyone who walks through her door can begin.
On one recent Thursday, I joined Lynn and Judy Marco at her dining room table, listening as the stories unfolded. A woman who has lived through 18 different cancers arrived with 32 blankets to donate. A 94-year-old, Florence Jaffa, continues to knit eight hats each week. Several individuals have each contributed more than 1,000 blankets over time.
Years ago, a blind woman who had learned to knit at a school for the blind made 256 blankets and hats for the group. She called it her therapy. When she died, she was buried with the final blanket she had intended for the hospital.
There are others: a firefighter who knits between calls, a woman from Vietnam who sews tallit bags and holiday stockings, and a steady stream of people who find their way here and begin.
The blankets travel further than most of the hands that make them. Deliveries extend across Charlotte and beyond, including more than 1,000 from Myrtle Beach. Prayer shawls are given to congregations. Hats move through infusion centers and oncology offices, offering a small measure of comfort at precisely the right moment.
In addition, Lynn maintains an inventory of more than 100 needlepoint canvases for sale, with proceeds supporting charitable efforts. Recent contributions have included a $ 10,000 donation toward an ambulance in Israel.
Lynn speaks about the work without sentimentality. Her profoundly at the local level. In Charlotte, it has taken root in a vibrant community shaped by dedicated teen leaders and meaningful programming.
As Charlotte alum and former adviser Inna Manoim shared,“ It’ s the love teens have for being together, a space where they are given real responsibility while feeling completely comfortable in their Jewish identity. It’ s different from school or sports; it’ s a place where they can simply be themselves.”
That legacy is not just remembered; it is actively being built. One current Charlotte teen leader, Sophie Manoim, once looked up to older members who modeled what it meant to lead. Now, she is passing on those same values to younger teens, continuing a cycle of mentorship that ensures BBYO’ s impact will carry forward for generations to come. guiding principle is simple:“ Don’ t give until it hurts. Give until it feels good.”
It is a philosophy that has drawn in a community and held it. And while the work begins in her home, it has been sustained, in no small part, by the connective tissue of The Levine Jewish Community Center, where relationships form, where people return, and where this effort continues to grow.
By the time the afternoon winds down, the table is still full. Needles move. Conversations drift. Another stack of blankets is added to the pile.
It is, in the end, a quiet kind of legacy, built not in grand gestures, but in thousands upon thousands of stitches, each one offered for someone else.
As I was leaving, Lynn handed me a box of matzoh for Passover. She had heard Lucy likes it. It felt exactly right.
For additional information, please contact Lynn Edelstein at 704-366-6755.
BBYO Magic: The Jewish Future Starts Here
The Manoim family( Inna, left, with her daughter, Sophie).
For details about BBYO, contact Zack Tabachnikoff at Ztabachnikoff @ bbyo. org.