stevendebbie25

I know we all make donation quilts, and have many places out there to donate to, all good causes.
I wanted to share, one local quilt group makes a "hospital size" bed quilt donated to local people who are severe in a long term hospital stay. They mailed one to my son in another state, in hospital 9 months, it meant a lot to him. He had me read the scriptures of encouragement, faith, strength, healing they had on the blocks, I read over and over to him. This is a good idea.

Next, I just heard this on the radio, never head of them before. We have the McDonalds house for families of children in the hospital. But now they have the "Fisher House" program for families of soldiers in hospitals. What a wonderful place to donate quilts for beds, lap quilts for couches, to this house, in all military or patriotic fabrics, even holiday patriotic. Maybe even other items the house could use if one is in your community. I know we've taken items like toilet paper or paper towels & kleenex to McDonald house before too. Also ornaments, what about a patriotic Christmas decor?
These are families with a soldier in the hospital. We paid for a motel (no house available in that town), for 9 solid months, very expensive to our family budget, for my son. And meals, usually at the hospital caf, still adds high to the family budget minus my income not working while sitting by my son's side. Army does NOT pay for motel, meals, transportation of family. Airlines only give one bereivement flight per person, so my 4 daughters & husband flew down monthly at full rate, from our state, was $1200/person/flight. ANY donation to Fisher House, would be very grateful. I just learned, and just called in a donation too. I have material for my 'soldier' who no longer can have them in quilts, he's gone. But I can make them for Fisher House homes and soldiers both. Even wheelchair lap quilts are nice.
Just a plug for worthy causes.

Oh, and Cancer's...sorry... so much attention goes to pink ribbons now. Worthy cause of course. But there are so many other cancers. When you make a quilt for a cancer cause, not just pink, change those ribbon patterns to other colors, donate to the American Cancer Society or Walk for Life to be raffled for fund raising. I do quilts for Orange -Leukemia, Pink-Breast, Black-Melanoma, and multi-with names on ribbons for all cancers. Not just a full quilt again, a fund raiser can be with a lap quilt, wall hanging, be for "in memory" to "survivor" to "awareness".

And Downy Fabric Softener will 'give' you all the fabric needed to finish a child quilt including pattern. They ask you assemble and mail back, and if possible, make 2-3 more to add to that return of quilts. A nice place for a project starter for a local guild.

Anyone else have wonderful quilt donation stories?

Sadiemae

I am going to make a donate a few to the veterans in our area that are going through chemo. I also donate to foster kids.

Jim's Gem

What a great service to our Service men and women that Fisher house must be. I have never heard of it before. We do have a Veterans home in our county and our guild keeps them supplied with quilts.

stevendebbie25

This got me thinking, and searching, and I also do machine embroidery. A quilt of "eyes" for the Blind. Of Animals (african mainly) toward our local Zoo as they are always short funded. Even a scout quilt to help toward sending a young scout to a camp who can't afford it. Pet lovers quilts or even pet blankies to donate for fund raisers of the local animal shelter. No matter what your passion, what's touched your heart, there is a way as quilters, embroidery, any craft, to create something at least once a year, to donate. Sometimes what we scrap together for a project doesn't cost us much, but can be raffled for hundreds toward the needs of your charity. If you decide to do anything yourself on fund raising, make sure you check local laws for raffles, fund raising, silent auctions.
Please keep giving ideas here.

dkabasketlady

I contribute lap robes for Hospice centers in Pinellas County in Florida. My DM has belonged to this organization for 15 yrs. and it only has 10 members to date(most are in their 80's). I have two sisters that also help make these lap robes even though one lives in MI. and the other in IN. I have been doing this for five years. At Christmas time EVERYONE that comes in gets a holiday theme lap robe. We make over 1000 of these lap robes per year.

stevendebbie25

You ARE a giving angel, and will be blessed. I'm ashamed I don't come near what you contribute. There is so much need out there. My youngest daughter was a CNA at a nursing home she had to drive to the next town for her work, many times in very hazardous roads/conditions. She ended finally quitting because of the emotional tole, she would come home nearly daily in tears, calling me from work in tears. She has this huge heart and got attached quickly and they of course don't last, and when they passed it took part of her too. She stood beside her brother when he passed, and one other sister was there, my husband, and I held his head in my arms his last 45 minutes. We get touched by things, and I think a way to help us heal or at least make it through another day, is to give to others.

I'd like to mention, many times, 'young' people are left in nursing homes because family can't or wont' take care of them. They are set up for 'need' not 'care'. My daughter cared for a couple young men who reminded her of her brother, and then lost them too. The horror stories we learn of in nursing homes. The nicest thing I believe is to be able to 'be there' for someone. She gave a simple housecoat & pj pants to an elderly man who was alone for every holiday..his son's family only living 50 miles away, never came to see him. He beamed so happy with her gift, from her paycheck raising a daughter on her own, she cared enough to give what she believed he'd really like to have, and she was right. He proudly wore it all the time, his short time he had, and left with her by his side too. She got wrote up for saying a prayer with him at his request...not her job, she was supposed to call the chaplan, but the man didn't like the chaplan and didn't want him, he wanted my daughter there with him at the end.
If we could just have compassion and abilities to give to all the needs in this world, even around us. If we only knew how much 15 minutes a month, or week could mean to someone who's all alone...in the hospital, nursing home, a child without someone to turn to. It may not be money, or a quilt, just a few minutes of our time on the way home from the beauty salon once a month, making it a routine.
Sometimes we have to actually schedule something like this. And then we tend to back out last minute..don't know them..feels strange. But please go forward and don't stop. Child, abused mom, abandoned pet, elderly, hospitalized, veteran...where your heart is, someone is there to receive.