Community Service
Charlene Dean and Betty Phillips, Co-chairs

2010 Service Projects

This year Uhuru will participate in Hopes & Dreams ALS Quilt Challenge, Beads of Courage, Neonatal Intensive Care Quilts, and Crib and Children’s Quilts.

Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS. Please give the gift of a quilt to warm the life, the heart and the lap of an ALS patient, and help raise awareness and research money for ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease. For additional information on how to participate in this community service project, please visit www.QuiltersDreamBatting.com. 

Beads of Courage is a national organization that teams with hospitals to help pediatric patients cope with their illness. The patients choose beads to mark a milestone in their treatment and the bags are used to store their beads. The bead bags will be donated to Johns Hopkins Oncology Pediatric Unit. Instructions for making the bead bags are provided. For more information about Beads of Courage visit their website at www.beadsofcourage.org.

Angel Quilts for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
These small quilts will be used by Holy Cross Hospital’s NICU during memorial services and given to the parents of a child who has passed away, as a remembrance of its birth.  This is an ongoing project, so we’re looking for a lot of these little quilts from the members of Uhuru!

Crib & Children's Quilts
We will also be making crib and children’s quilts for the hospital.  Please!! Please!! WASH YOUR FABRICS. It’s very important when making quilts for children that we pre-wash the fabrics, or even wash the finished quilt to make sure it will stand up to washing. If you’ve taken your quilt from place to place and shown it to people, remember that these quilts will be given to sick children and should be as close to germ free as possible. Is it clean enough? If in doubt, wash it before turning it in. The hospital might pre-wash them in hot water before giving them to a child; however, as a precaution make sure you wash your fabrics/quilts.

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Other Community Service Projects

Many guild members not only fulfill the community service requirement each year, but also go above and beyond. If that description fits you and you would still like to do more once you have done the community service project, here is a list of organizations that would appreciate quilts for those in need. Making quilts, pillowcases, neck huggers, fleece hats, etc., that you donate is also a great way to practice a quilting or piecing technique, use orphan fabric and blocks. Visit the web site for quilt specifics and contact information.

ABC Quilts
http://www.quilt.com/MiscQuilting/CharityQuilting.html
Nationwide project whose members make quilts for babies with HIV and other serious illnesses.

Heartstrings Quilt Project
http://www.heartstringsquiltproject.com
Online quilters who make and donate string quilts to local charitable organizations.

Home of the Brave Quilt Project
http://www.homeofthebravequilts.org
Quilts made for each fallen serviceperson’s next-of-kin.

Hugs for Homeless Animals Snuggles Project
http://www.snugglesproject.org
Crocheted, knitted and quilted security blankets made for shelter animals

Marine Comfort Quilts
http://www.marinecomfortquilts.us
Provides a Comfort Quilt to the primary next-of-kin for all soldiers lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Newborns in Need
http://www.newbornsinneed.org
Provides blankets, quilts and other items for sick and needy babies and their families.

Priority:Alzheimer’s Quilts
http://www.alzquilts.org/madoqu.html
Donated quilts are auctioned and the profit is used to fund Alzheimer’s research.

Project Linus
http://www.projectlinus.org
Provides love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets.

Quilting for Orphans
http://www.quiltsfororphans.come
Provides quilts for orphans in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Quilts for Comfort
http://www.quiltsforcomfort.com
Quilts delivered to at-risk babies, children and adults in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Quilts for Kids
www.quiltsforkids.org/patterns/request

Quilts of Valor
http://www.qovf.org
Makes quilts for ALL war-wounded and injured service members and veterans from the War on Terror, whether wounds are physical or psychological.

Sewn-n-Love
http://www.sewn-n-love.org
Makes, collects and donates quilts to cancer patients of all ages.

Stitches from the Heart
http://www.stitchesfromtheheart.org
Sends handmade clothing, blankets and love to premature babies across the nation.

Victoria’s Quilts
http://www.victoriasquilts.com
Donates handmade quilts to cancer patients and to facilities that serve cancer patients.

Wrap a Smile
http://www.wellsrotary.org/History.cfm
Supporting the medical mission of Rotaplast International, which provides free surgery to repair cleft lips and cleft palates around the world, Wrap-A-Smile donates quilts for the children to be wrapped in after surgery.

Wrap Them in Love
http://www.wraptheminlove.org
Collects donated quilts and distributes them to children around the world.

Source: Quilters Home (September/October 2008)