Quilts for Kids in Distress
Early this year in May, an idea and a challenge entered my mind. For several years I have sponsored the Kids in Distress organization: http://kidsindistress.org/home.asp The organization is a nationally accredited agency dedicated to the prevention of child abuse, the preservation of the family and the care and treatment of abused children. The American Embroidery Conference Organizer, Dianne Pomeroy, has for years gathered her embroidery group members and various friends online to make quilts, donate quilt blocks which can be made into quilts for the children at the Kids in Distress shelters. Some years ago, I started the trend of raising donations for the organization by encouraging friends attending the AEC (http://www.braeco.com) to wear the color RED at the conference’s PJ party night. Anyone who wore RED received a free ticket for one of the prizes (machines, softwares etc donated by the vendors and hosting ME company) from me personally. The money generated was then given to the Organization by me personally. Moreover, I started a TOYS drive as well, giving free designs to the donors of brand new toys for the oganization.Susan Mars, (http://www.allaboutblanks.com) started a drive of collecting embroidered quilt blocks for which she donated a linen tea towel personally. Many other friends also started various ways of helping the organization.
Children at the Shelters regard their quilts as their safety blankets, hardly ever giving them up to be even washed by the employees. These quilts represent love and caring to the child. My idea was to gather as many quilts as possible for the children to be given to at their yearly Christmas party. In return, anyone donating a brand new quilt would receive a set of designs of their choice by me. The response was overwhelming. Usually with all our various endeavours, we have collected about 150-200 quilts a year. With the special Quilts for Kids in Distress drive this year, we generated about 342 quilts thanks to Bernie Griffith (http://www.coveredinstitches.com/) who also sponsored the event with me. Wow! My everlasting thanks to all friends from around the world who participated in the project and donated lovely quilts for the children.
As you can see from the pictures above (thank you Dianne) the response and the generosity of friends was overwhelming. In a span of seven months, 342 quilts were sent in, each just as pretty and created with loving care as the other. My thanks to all forever. YOU ARE THE GREATEST!
I’ve been asked about next year’s drive and at the moment I have not come up with an idea but for sure all friends attending the American Embroidery Conference in March/April and wearing RED will receive a free ticket with all monies going directly from me to Kids in Distress. As more digitizing friends are wanting to help as well, we are brainstorming to present another idea together. Meanwhile, the children at Kids in Distress will have a wonderful Christmas thanks to wonderful friends around the world.
