Poland & Mahoning Valley - What started as a simple act of kindness in 2005 has evolved into a 20-year mission that has helped thousands of people across the Mahoning Valley and Beaver County.

Wanda Marland, a former church secretary, began making tie-blankets for people who shared their struggles with her.

"People would come into my office saying that they had cancer and they had different situations, and I wanted to do something. So we started doing tie-blankets," Marland said.

The program was designed as a three-month trial, running from September to December of that year.

During that time, Marland and volunteers would go out for dinner, and then return to the Prince of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Poland to create tie blankets.

Over the course of three months in 2005, the

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