sushi

According to a report in today's (April 21) issue of the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, the Minnesota VA no longer welcomes quilt donations. Some at the VA cite the risk of bedbugs; others say their warehouses are full and they can't accommodate any more quilts. What is your local experience?

Here's the link to the article:
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/04/...5851303413279/

sewcrafty

If they're full-up, maybe they should pass on the wealth then.

justflyingin

I think that due to the long winters in Minnesota, there are huge numbers of quilters. :)

Sadiemae

I think it is terribly sad, and this VA needs to distribute extra quilts to veterans in need rather than to store them.

Sienna's GiGi

Many servicemembers here in Afghanistan and in Iraq would like to receive a quilt or lap blanket. Also Walter Reed and Landstuhl (Germany) two of the largest hospitals dedicated to wounded warriors would love to have a quilt. There are so many serveicemembers out there and so many organizations that would be willing to take some of the things the Minnesota quilters are storing off their hands.

Butterflyspain

They could send the extras to Japan I am sure they would be more than welcomed by people who now have nothing.

Just a thought

Elle

patricej

there are a few different ways to process and perceive this.

1. Get angry and offended on behalf of the group who makes the quilts. That's a fairly human, predictable, and understandable reaction. However, it's actually not necessary.

2. Appreciate the fact that the VA staff at that hospital were honest enough to let the ladies know it wasn't practical to keep sending their quilts to that particular destination. They could have just kept accepting them, rather than risk the political fallout from telling them the truth. The quilts would have just kept piling up, gathering dust instead of being distributed, used and loved. Remember ... the staff of every VA facility have more work than hours to do it. To suggest or expect that they double as a general clearing house by sending excess donations out to other organizations is not reasonable.

3. Recognize that this news story does not even attempt to tell the whole story. It was obviously written to focus on negativity and to give that VA center a "black eye".

Bedbugs have been in the news for months. A healthcare facility would neglect its primary mission if it did not take every possible precaution to prevent them ... even if that means having to unfortunately hurt some feelings.

Do you really think that those ladies will abandon their good works? Not likely. They will certainly look for another place to send the quilts. They will know that the alternate organization(s) will need them, appreciate them, and distribute them.

This story is not a story at all. I'm confident there was or will be a happy ending we never hear about.

Edie

In our paper today there was this article. (I won't write the whole thing out, just bits and pieces.

VA hospital asks quilters to hold that thread. Minnesota quilters are stitching blankets faster than the injured soldiers and ailing veterans they are destined for are entering the hospital - and now there's a quilt surplus.

With four storage rooms piled high with quilts and other handmade items, the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System has put a temporary stop on accepting such donations.

And while quilters say they're skeptical of the supposed excess supply, they are willing to take their donations elsewhere.

"I find it hard to believe there is too much stuff," said Page Johnson, coordinator for the Southern Minnesota group Quilts of Valor which makes quilts for soldiers and veterans.

To handle the overflow, the agency set aside four rooms that are 3/4 full of donated quilts,lap robes, blankets, pillows, slippers and laundry bags, she said.

The temporary hold on the stitched blankets came as a shock to quilter Cathy Foxworth of N. St. Paul. Foxworth has quilted for eight years with the White Bear Lake group Ladies of the Lake. They give at least 12 quilts a year to the Minneapolis VA as part of Quilts of Valor, which has stringent standards for quilts they donate. However, most of the 125 or more quilts made by Ladies of the Lake are given to other groups, including children's hospitals.

Quilters throughout the state also got word that the Minneapolis VA put a stop on accepting their blankets because of the potential dangers from bedbug infestations. "That's wrong," said Ralph Heussner, spokesman for the Minneapolis VA. The agency always processes donated fabrics through high-heat dryers as a precaution. Heussner said he has never heard of any VA center having problems with bedbug infestations.

I guess maybe an excess is good news????? Perhaps there are less injuries in Iraq and/or Afghanistan?????

I thought it was just an interesting article. Edie

Ramona Byrd

Something doesn't sound quite right here. I can see them shipping the excess to other hospitals. I don't think that it would matter to those lovely, generous ladies where they went to, as long it was to an American wounded military person.
Wish they could make up their minds what is wrong. Any volunteers at these hospitals want to comment? When I was still in my 28 years plus volunteering at our local hospital, we volunteers knew pretty well what was happening in the hospital and where and why. And with one of my brothers as security there, I also knew more than the others. Since he had gone to schooll with a lot of the housekeeping staff, they heard what we didn't and felt free to tell brother all!!

RUSewing

That's hard to believe that any VA would top accepting quilts. If it's true, quilters ought to get involved with the Quilts of Valor foundation.

http://www.qovf.org/