Community Service

Quilters have good hearts and want to give back to their communities. And, as a 501(c)3 organization, this is something we are committed to doing. These are the projects currently approved by the board as guild projects, though there may be other projects that guild members work on together outside of this list.

"Transition Living Program Young Adult Quilt Project"
At its January 2012 Executive Board meeting and upon acceptance by the membership at the January meeting, a new project lead by Kathy Goff was launched. While quilts are made for children through Linus, the Dell NCIU project helps the youngest ones, and Comfort Quilts addressed adults, there is a need to help another population-- the young adult.

Transition House is a branch of Austin Children's Shelter.  It was designed to help young adults who are "aging out" of the foster system learn skills they will need when they are out on there own. Youth in this program live in the long-term residential cottages and must be 16 – 21 years old and either enrolled in school or vocational training.

Guild members make quilts that are a minimum size of 52" x 80". Fabric chosen should be of interest to young adults, not children. If one cannot make tops, the members need print strips cut 3.5" wide and solid stripes 1.5" wide, or just donate fabric! They may be gender specific. Cash donations can also be earmarked for this project.

The quilts will become the property of the young man or young woman and, as they "graduate" and another replaces them we will provide another quilt for the newcomer.  At this time there are 9 young men and 6 young women. For more information about Transition House, contact guild member Kathy Goff. Visit the website program's website at http://www.austinchildrenshelter.org/site/PageNavigator/about_programs

"Dell Children's Medical Center NCIU Quilt Project"
Members are encouraged to donate flannel pieces of fabric, simply finished, about 30 inches square. The simple pieces are given to parents with infants in the NCIU. For more information contact guild member and President Helen Bokman.

 

“Thank You Quilters”

Many members of the MSQTG make quilts and/or afghans for wounded warriors and their children stationed at Fort Hood, TX, as an expression of our gratitude for their service and sacrifice. Our goal is to provide quilts and/or afghans to soldiers recovering from injuries, both physical and emotional. The children’s quilts provide comfort to them while their parent(s) are recovering. “Thank You Quilters” meet at Ready to Sew Bernina, 2800 Whitestone Blvd., Suite 225, Cedar Park, TX., (512) 260-4100, on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. “Thank You Quilters” is under the umbrella of “Bigger Than Us Ministries” so your costs and contributions are tax deductible. For more information, contact guild member Sharon Green or for more information about the project see the website http://www.thankyouquilters.org/

 

“Project Linus”

Many MSQTG members participate in “Project Linus”.  The mission of "Project Linus" is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth, and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need, through gifts of new, handmade quilts, blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer "blanketeers".  The second mission of this organization is to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals or groups in local communities for the benefit of children.  If you want more more information on this worthwhile organization or wish to participate as a volunteer, please see guild member Helen Bokman or visit the website http://www.orgsites.com/tx/austinlinus/index.html.

 

One time projects during 2011-2012

“Comfort Quilts”

After the fires hit Bastrop and over 3,000 people lost their homes, guild members became aware of the need for adults to have some form of quilts. Under the leadership of past president Liz Bell, about 20 guild members and friends worked furiously at Grace Presbyterian in Pflugerville and between that event and volunteer quilting and binding, 15 quilts were given to the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN) in December 2011. Also included in the delivery were 10 miscellaneous quilts donated by an out-of-town organization and given to Ronna Hammel, owner of Ready to Sew Bernina, for distribution. Accepting the quilts for the ADRN were Daniel Geraci, President, and volunteers Gail Ludwick and Sharon Collier. The ADRN planned to give all of the quilts to several churches in the wildfire disaster areas that had adopted needy families. The churches were going to distribute the quilts to families with the most needs in time for Christmas.

Liz and fellow guild member Kathy Goff agreed, saying, "Having 15 quilts to donate was a miracle in itself, but the joy experienced while giving this gift to the ADRN was the best Christmas miracle we've ever experienced and one we'll never forget!"

 

 

Note: Reference is made to guild member contact names for the use of the guild's membership. To protect the privacy of our guild members, email addresses for the project leads are not provided on this page.