COMMUNITY QUILTS JUST KEEPS ON GIVING!
The Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Club’s non-profit status is possible because of its “Community Quilt” outreach projects. Our members create quilts that are given to dozens of needy individuals and organizations throughout the year. The last Wednesday of each month is designated Community Quilt Workday and members are encouraged to participate in the making of a community quilt. Many members also work on community quilts individually at their homes.
Our quilts are given to Clallam County residents who have experienced a crisis – perhaps a fire, flood or catastrophic illness. They are given to each family member of a new Habitat for Humanity home when the home is completed and the keys are presented to the family. They are given to local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, Red Cross, Food Bank, Olympic Medical Center, Dungeness Health and Wellness (Free) Clinic, Serenity House Family Shelter and The Peninsula Storytellers to raffle or auction for fund-raising. In 2009 approximately 100 quilts were donated by the club.
Our club sponsors a Quilt Show in July of each year in conjunction with the Sequim Lavender Festival. One of the exhibits displays Community Quilts that are ready for distribution and members demonstrate the final stages of basting and hand-tying as they explain the Community Quilt program.
Joy Quilts, another outreach project, was begun in 2008 and continues to expand. Joy quilts are little quilts, usually between 12 and 18 inches square wrapped around a little stuffed animal and held in place with a ribbon and bow. When children are experiencing tough times, trauma or transition, their adult responder can give them one of these to hug, bringing a little comfort to the situation. In 2009, 150 of these Joy Quilts were distributed to the Washington State Children’s Administration, Healthy Families, Juvenile and Family Services, the Victim Liaison for the Prosecuting Attorney, Toys for Tots, and Olympic Medical Center.
Our members also make Christmas stockings which are filled with treats and shared with the Foster Children of Clallam County during the Holidays. In addition, fleece “qwillows” are made and presented to homeless veterans in the fall at the local “Veterans’ Stand Down”. Many of our members extend their generosity outside the club as they make and donate quilts to children with cancer and other community organizations.
Without the many generous donations of fabric, batting, and thread and time spent sewing, our Community Quilt program would not be possible. Our members are grateful for the opportunity to share their quilting talents and passions by serving the communities in which they live.
A raffle community quilt given to the Olympic Medical Center Auxiliary