Circle Of Friends: This Quilt Is For You! Posted 23rd June 2008

Greetings from Circle Of Friends,

When you donate your hard earned cash to an organisation, do you wonder how much of your donation is siphoned off to pay for administration?

I do.

That’s why I set up Circle Of Friends with a difference.

Every cheque we send on your behalf is made out to a not-for-profit fundraising effort. Not for general funds, administration, or paying for a bookkeeper to come in once a month to do the books.

Your donation is to be used specifically for the good of the community. That’s the only criteria I use when accepting members for Circle Of Friends. What do you put back into society that helps others?

The Community Quilts Group for the Quilters’ Guild of NSW, Inc is a perfect example.

Quilters and patchworkers are natural givers. I’m sure they were born already hardwired into the giving circuitry in their brain.

Ask any patchworker and quilter what they do with the heirloom pieces they create after many hours of toil and they’ll tell you they give them away.

To friends. To family.

And to people in need.

Quilters’ groups abound worldwide, including Australia. Small groups. And large groups. And one of the largest quilting groups is the Quilters’ Guild of NSW, Inc.

We’re into our second year as partners in Circle Of Friends. And we’ve become friends. And I’ve discovered there’s a hub of activity behind the scenes that the public never hears about.

The Guild hides their efforts under a bushel regarding Community Quilts. If you visit their website, it rates a few lines under Member Activities, next to The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover, because we’re sponsors of the Group.

But there’s nothing there screaming out saying, this is how we make a difference to the lives of other people.

And that’s what makes them extraordinary. They make a significant difference to the lives of other people.

How?

Imagine this.

Your family is in shreds and you’ve just been placed into foster care. The word unsettling doesn’t come close to describing the state of trauma you’re in. You’ve lost your parents, and you don’t know for how long. You’re separated from your siblings, and you don’t have a clue who the people are who are looking after you.

Chances are you’ve suffered abuse of some kind. Neglect is a form of abuse. And you worry that abuse is following you like a shadow.

What are the important ingredients missing in your life?

Safety. Love. And a sense of belonging.

Love is like a tree. It takes time to grow.

A sense of belonging requires familiarity with your surroundings. And you’re in a very strange place.

And you don’t know you’re safe until you experience a prolonged period devoid of abuse.

But little things can touch you. And make you feel important. And very, very special.

And something very nice is about to happen to you.

Because the ladies at the Guild are already making you a quilt that comes from deep within their heart and soul. A quilt made with love. Just for you.

A quilt that belongs to YOU, ‘Forever’. Absolutely not to be shared with anyone else.

Just like Santa, they find out your name, your new home, and what you like.

And give you your very special ‘Forever’ quilt.

This quilt has YOUR NAME on it. And guess what? The design is custom made just for you. Because they care enough to find out what pleases you. And as soon as the word comes back that you love trains, your ‘Forever’ quilt is all about trains.

This is an extraordinary effort that has an extraordinary impact in the life of a foster child.

And is repeated 80 times for 80 children in foster care, every year.

And extends to the Harbord Children’s Home, which houses children from the country. 100 quilts a year are made for them, to help them adjust to their city surroundings.

Conjure up your imagination one more time.

If you’re on your own, is there anything nicer to snuggle up to on a cold day than a warm and cuddly quilt? I don’t think so.

And if you’re elderly, it’s especially nice and soothing. Just ask my partner’s 81 year old mother, Rita. When there’s a nip in the air, she carries hers around her house like Snoopy’s blanket.

Now if you’re both elderly and in a nursing home, where life is institutionalised and rather impersonal, a familiar quilt can be the one thing that not only makes you feel special, but almost becomes like a piece of real estate. It’s your bit of turf that makes you feel ‘at home’.

And every year, the ladies in Community Quilts make and donate 80 quilts to the Benevolent Society specifically for the residents in their nursing homes. To make them feel more like they’re ‘at home’.

Just before Mother’s Day, the maternity wards at St George and Sutherland Hospitals receive a box of quilts from the Guild. To be raffled off to buy breast pumps. Of course!

All of this happens in the back rooms of church halls. And on display at the Sydney Quilt Show. And in the privacy of a member’s home.

But little of it happens overtly and with the fanfare it deserves.

I bet you didn’t know that as a member, when you purchase any product from us through Circle Of Friends, your donation goes specifically to the Community Quilts and Blankets of Love Groups, to support their voluntary efforts in making a difference to the lives of others.

Your donation buys needed supplies that aren’t donated by other sponsors. Such as rotary cutters and rulers and thread and chalk and visohex for their storeroom.

Your donation means the members who are already volunteering their time, don’t have to dig ever deeper into their own pockets to come up with the materials to keep these projects moving along.

Your donation helps these extraordinary women make an extraordinary difference to the lives of people who are left in the margins of life.

What impact does this have on the community?

It’s best described by a little boy who brought the quilt especially made for him to Show and Tell at school. His classmates said he must be very special because so many nice ladies made this for him. He was chuffed.

Shirley Merriel and Ros Moules are the drivers behind the wheel of the Community Quilts Group. And it’s patently obvious, when talking to them, that the pleasure they get from this program enriches their lives.

The Blankets Of Love Group is very special too. They’re my next post. So keep reading.

And if you're already a member of The Quilters' Guild of NSW Inc, you can now order online. Just enter the code QG25 into the Customer Comments section of the online order form for the Shopping Cart. Your donation will find its way to the keepers of the money at the Guild.

You can order at any time that’s convenient for you. There’s no time limit. And I include both Community Quilts and Blankets Of Love in your donation.

If your group isn't already a member, I’d really love to welcome you into the Circle so you can experience the joy of what goes around comes around for yourself.

All the details about Circle Of Friends are contained in my original post What Goes Around Comes Around. It's at the beginning of my posts.

Take care,

CAROL

Carol Jones
Director

This is where we live and work.
Interface Pty Ltd
6026 Sofala Road Ilford NSW 2850
PO Box 139 Kandos NSW 2848
Tel: 02 63 58 85 11 Fax: 02 63 58 85 10

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