In our quilt guild we have many branches of service to and from our members. The classes we arrange are for the members to increase their skills in quilting and the 'from' part consists of my part in the organization.
We have a group that meets the fourth Monday of each month except December and we accept donations of fabric from just about anywhere but mostly our fabrics come from the members or their estates. Consequently, we have about 20 totes that are filled to capacity with fabric that we use to make quilts to be donated to the various agencies in our area.
Last month my helper and I called all the agencies that have been serviced in the past to see if they were still in need. One agency informed me that their leader was on vacation but that they would contact me when she returned.
My phone rang and when I answered it, a voice on the other end asked me if I was still interested in being a client in their housing facility - a women's shelter. You can imagine how surprised I was to get that phone call. After some talking it was determined that my name had been indeed taken for the leader to contact, but had been put on the wrong message pad and so I was being contacted to see if I still needed their services.
The sad part about it was that this agency was in need of 7 quilts. 3 teen aged children, one 8yr old, one 4yr old a one yr old baby and a tentative client who was also 4 yrs old. Because we did not get their phone call in the expected period of time, we had distributed the pile of quilts that we had on hand.....and we had none to give to the shelter.
Each month, the community quilts group gives their time to make quilt tops from our fabric totes and at work day, we sandwich the quilts with batt and backing and then roll them into a bundle for distribution to those who want to quilt them for us or tie them whichever they are able to do it is ok. With no quilts to help out this need at the shelter, I put out an SOS on the guild grapevine - an email that goes to all the quilter group members. Before the weekend was over, I had received 15 quilts and at our reguilar business meeting this week 25 more quilts for the community quilt project were turned in for display in the church where we meet.
So, today I went to the women's shelter to deliver 6 quilts - these are adult size and I also took 12 quilts to the Court Appointed Advocate group at the Juvenile Detention Center in readiness for the upcoming National Adoption day in November. They expect to have around 67 adoptions take place that day. Each adoptee gets to pick out a quilt that our community quilts people have made from the donated fabrics.
We had a request from one of the advocates at Catholic Charities for a quilt to be raffled at a benefit dinner at a local church early next month. The money raised from this raffle is earmarked for underwear for the teenage girls that are in the "Teen Closet" population.
The lady I talked to had, at one time or another been homeless while growing up and has experienced at first hand what it is to be in dire need of everyday items. She was ever so thankful that we had singled out one of the quilts for her to use as a raffle quilt to raise money for her group.
Oh yes, it is a lot of work to be head of this committee to do compassionate service to the community, but the people I have met so far have been such wonderful caring individuals and I admire them for the work they do to help those who stand in need at this point in their lives.
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