looking for charity to donate wife's quilting stash
 

hi, long time caregiver for my wife who was an avid quilter for many years. She has quite a stash of fabric and tools. My wife no longer has the focus or ability to do any quilting. And we may have to move to asst living. I thought maybe someone knew of a charity or church group that could use the materials, preferably in New England to keep shipping down. Any ideas would be helpful. We both were volunteers for ABC Quilts, making neo-natal unit quilts for many years but that organization folded its tent years ago.

Maybe check with the local quilting guild? If you don't know of one, ask at the quilt shops your wife frequented. They should have names of contact persons. You shouldn't have to ship a donation! Surely there are volunteers who would come pick your generous offer up.

So sorry for your situation. Google to see if there is a quilt guild in your area. Most guilds do charity work. If you cannot find one, contact your nearest senior center... they often know of places where her stash could be put to good use. You might also contact the hospital, VA center, or cancer center. They might put you in touch with organizations who donate quilts to them.

I don't have any suggestions for you, but I wanted to offer my condolences to you and your wife. I am sure there are many organizations who would be grateful for any donations. Quilts of Valor and Linus Club come to mind. I am sure they both have branches in New England. Your donation is very generous and I think your wife would appreciate it, I know I would. Good luck with your move if it comes to pass.
Sue

I'm sorry you hear of your wife's declining health. You are so sweet to take care of her for all these years, some people just don't do that. I have no other ideas other than what gardengnome suggested.

Also, check with church groups. Some of them have quilting groups as well.

Prayers for you and your wife's general well being during this transition. It sounds like you and your wife have been fortunate to have one of those real loves we all dream of! God bless you both.

http://www.quiltsforkids.org/find-a-chapter.htm

If you were close to me I would say donate to my chapter of Quilts For Kids. We make quilts and take to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis.

There may be chapter close to you. You can check the homepage

I am so sorry you are going through this. My thoughts are with you. And how kind of you to take the time to find a place that will cherish the donated gift.

So very kind of you to think of others as you go through these tough times.
If you would care to say what area of New England you live in, or send me a private message by clicking on my name, I will do some research on the internet and try to come up with some guilds and charities near you that you can approach.

Watson

Community Senior centers often accept donations- have a sewing/ quilting group. Check for a local guild, our Hospice House has a quilting group who makes quilts for each person/ family who enters the hospice house. Local quilt shops might be able to steer you to other places.
Project Linus, quilts of Valor and Downey quilts for kids might have chapters in your area too.

Dear Ol...

I am in New England and if you send me a private message, I can help you with some local charities. So sorry to hear of your situation. I belong to a quilt guild in southern New Hampshire that has 2 or 3 different charities that we support. We are always accepting fabric, notions, quilt tops, finished quilts, etc.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Linus quilt group, groups that make quilts of valor. I think a local guild is a great place to start. So sorry she can no longer quilt. Prayers

you could always ck at the lock quilt stores. So sorry for your situation.

It sounds like you're actively searching for places to donate and once the word is out, I'm sure someone will contact you. Hope your days are good days!

Here's a link to what Craftsy.com suggests: https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/11...lies-and-time/

Thank you for trying to find a home for your wife's fabrics! Unfortunately many spouses in your situation send it to a landfill. While I'm sure you'll find good homes for the fabric, please keep in mind that you can always compost 100% cotton fabric if all else fails.

We meet at the local assisted living facility to quilt once per month with some of the members. They have a sewing room with tubs full of supplies. Worth checking out.

To the OP - how kind of you to want to pass on your wife's love of quilting in this fashion. And sorry to hear she's no longer able to quilt herself. I'm sure she misses the pastime.

And to Watson and ILovetoQuilt - how kind of you both to offer your time and efforts to help this very generous and thoughtful husband.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your wife.

How nice of you to want to donate your wife's quilting tools and stash. Her love of quilting will live on in this way.

Others have offered great suggestions. Another might be to check with the Ronald McDonald houses - they frequently accept quilts and may know of a group you could contact.

Thank you for making the effort to donate your wife's stash and supplies. It can be such a blessing. I inherited my sister-in-laws stash 12 years ago and I am still using her fabric in quilts. I have made quilts for her children and grandchildren. It is so special to hand a quilt to one of these special ones and to say this fabric or that square is from her stash.

Find a local quilt guild or two or three and share the blessings and know that your wife's passion will be honored with many, many quilts for others.

You could try this site http://nequiltmuseum.org/donate-fabric--supplies.html. So very sorry to hear of your wife's failing health.

Bless you for taking care of your wife and making sure her supplies are donated to a worthy cause. There are so many groups out there who do charity sewing that I'm sure with the suggestions already offered, you will find several. I pray your move goes well for both of you as you transition.

Anita,
So very nice of you to offer to help Ol. I am sure the task is overwhelming for him. We quilters do aguire many things.
God Bless
Susie

This is a good question....I was recently in a horrific car accident and my wrist was broken...can't quilt for awhile....I had just bought a lot of Kona Bay Asian design fabric to make some Asian quilts along of course with the stash I have.....It made me think about where my husband could donate my fabric if something happened to me so these are great suggestions......

What a tough decision to make for both of you. I send you my heartfelt sympathy.

While donations to local guilds and/or charities makes sense, they are all run differently and accountability/guidelines will surely vary. I have an outside the box suggestion. I am an avid charity quilter and I belong to the Assistance League of the Triangle. The Assistance League is a national organization with high accountability standards and we make our money through sales in our thrift shops. We do NOT allow members to "cherry pick" donated items and have strict fiscal and operational guidelines. Seems we are always getting ready for some kind of audit. BUT we make every cent count! Our funds are spent locally. One of the ways we use generated funds is annually in Operation School Bell. We bought new school clothes including a coat and a well fitting pair of new shoes for 1700 local children this year. Additionally we provide scholarships to promising. needy new graduates as well as those returning to school in order to change jobs. Last year we provided grants totaling $137,000 to 27 students. We work with women in crisis support groups all over our three county area with funding and personal time. Basically any children or women in crisis situation can, and likely will, receive help from us and we provide "shoe leather" as well as money. This is far from a comprehensive list but we fund these programs through donations to our thrift shop, cash donations, and grant writing. All donations are tax deductible. Every hour of labor involved in operating the shop is VOLUNTEER including the manager. AL will also typically pickup and pack up which may be of great help to you. I suggest you google either local charity thrift stores or the Assistance League if you are interested in my suggestion. If you need help narrowing this down, you may PM me.
There should be an Assistance League or some other like charity group near you. I speak of them because I am knowledgeable and impressed by their high level of accounability. Believe me, my considerable stash will go to them. Otherwise, who knows how long it will take for the fabrics to ALL get put to work helping others. When they are sold (often to quilters at a great price), the money goes to meet immediate needs locally. The donation doesn't favor any one person and the earnings are spread wide to support needs in your community.

All charitable groups like Salvation Army and Goodwill will take your stash. There are many pet and Hospice charity stores that would love it also. I have taken many sewing machines that I found very cheap to these various charity groups. Good luck. Also in reading some of these posts, you could ask them to help you with the postage fees. I recently sent huge boxes of fabric to South Dakota to the Indian Reservation and the USPS said if I sent boxes that were really heavy and large-like 50+lbs-it costs way cheaper than you think it would.

Check with your closest quilt guild...ours holds a sale with half the proceeds going the donor and half to the guild.

Does your local high school still have 'home ec' classes? My area does not, but the city parks and rec program offers several sewing classes. By donating to these groups, you are helping kids to learn to sew. Also, check with your local girls scout council or other youth groups. Donating to a local quilt guild is a wonderful thing and they may use the material to make many wonderful quilts for local charities, but, I tend to look to teaching kids to sew.

so sorry you are needing to make decisions on passing on your wife's treasures. If you are in upstate NY--I could help you with finding several organizations making charity quilts for hospitals, homes, cancer centers-etc. several quilting groups around my area. I'm sure if you are within driving distance the travel to pickup could be arranged as well so you didn't incur costs to ship.

most charities like linus and also doner will take donations check with your local church and local quilt guilds in your area

I just donated the last of my stash to the local 4-H club here and they were thrilled to get it and sent me a tax receipt for 2018. Try the 4-H club. Sorry for your problems with your wife's declining health and needed rise in care.

If your wife belonged to Guild that would be the best solution, they might know, or if the High School has a sewing class. Some churches have charity sewing we do. Also some of her sewing friends might know of places you can donate it too.
Sorry for your loss.

So sorry your wife can no longer quilt. It is not easy getting old. God Bless you both in your move and may it be a happy one.

So kind of you. My thoughts are with you and your wife. If you were in Illinois I could send you to about 10 areas that would take and use all fabric. We sew for veterans, children, hospitals, battered women, etc. I would call local quilt shops and/or churches. Was your wife in a quilt guild? Maybe even a quilter she knew could help you. Wishing you all the best.

an idea-if assisted living is in your/hers future...why not there? I bet there are folks who would love the opportunity to sew/quilt.

I know of at least four church groups near me who meet weekly to make charity quilts. My friend told me they waste nothing.

In my area there is a store exactly for this - they take donations of sewing supplies and resell them, the proceeds go to benefit the local senior center. I'm in CA so that's not specifically helpful to you, but there might be something similar in your area?

I help coordinate our local chapter of Project Linus, and we receive donations like this all the time. Whatever we can't use, we pass along to thrift shops that welcome sewing supplies or give them to other groups like us that sew for other charitable purposes.

So sorry to hear of your wife's health. Thoughts and prayers with you. You might want to contact a couple of local quilt shops and they may be able to help you. I know when I moved that I contacted a quilt store and they gave me a name of someone that did quilts for the "Linus Projects". I called and a lady came by my house and picked up 2 big garbage bags filled with fabric and she was very grateful for the donation. She said her church had a group of ladies that made quilts for a couple of homes that had foster children. Good luck on your search.

I have donated to the local seniors center, they make quilts for charity and use there own fabric. Every time I have donated it was like giving a personal gift, they were so happy .

Quilts of Valor is always in need of RED White and Blue fabric. They make quilts to cover the Veterans