Quilts for Kids News, March 2008

New Davis, CA, Chapter Off to a Good Start

Cindy Nelson and Diana Raabe of the new Quilts for Kids Davis, California, chapter recently received some very positive press in their local newspaper, The Davis Enterprise:

"Crafters bring warmth to children in need through budding quilting group"

"Cindy Nelson and Diana Raabe are two stay-at-home moms who love to make quilts, which they give as presents to their friends and family. Last year, however, they had 'run out of people to give quilts to,' according to Nelson.

As luck would have it, the two stumbled upon an opportunity to donate their quilts to sick and needy children with the nonprofit organization Quilts for Kids.

Headquartered in Pennsylvania, Quilts for Kid has more than 50 chapters nationally. It receives 500 quilts a month from chapter members, and has donated 40,000 quilts in total, Nelson said. In addition, the organization has kept 1 million pounds of waste out of landfills since its beginning.

'The founder was a clothing designer and found so much waste in the industry, so she began asking for the big sample pieces that were going to landfills,' Nelson, 39, explained.

Currently, Nelson and Raabe are the only members in the Davis chapter, which they founded in J anuary. Instead of mailing the quilts to the headquarters in Pennsylvania to hand out, Nelson and Raabe have opted to distribute their quilts right here in the Davis community. On March 6, they gave 16 quilts to Kaiser Permanente.

They connect with nurses and social workers who can identify possible recipients through word-of-mouth. They also have contacted the UC Davis children's hospital to discuss donating quilts there.

So far, they have not met any of the children who have received their quilts. As mothers, Raabe, 46, said that it was difficult for them to see children in 'those types of situations,' which includes terminal illness and abusive homes.

'We prefer to donate the quilts to the nurses, who act as middlemen to distribute them for us,' Raabe said.

The quilt-making begins by advertising for fabric donations from the community. 'Right now, we are also in desperate need of batting (a filler used in quilts),' Nelson said. 'The children usually like bright, appealing prints, like with Disney cartoon characters.'

Inevitably, the fabric patterns that they receive are mismatched - ranging from tropical fruit to starfish prints. Raabe said that the most fascinating part of quilting, though, is trying to find 'compatible' scraps of fabric.

Then, they cut the fabric into pieces that can be sewn together and package them together in kits. Quilt designs can range from the nine-patch to a pinwheel pattern, while sizes range from the 1-foot to 1.5-foot quilts for preterm infants to the larger ones given to 18-year-olds.

Because hospitals constantly wash their sheets, Quilts for Kids has a set of requirements to ensure that quilts are sturdy enough to handle the rough-and-tumble treatment. For example, fabrics must be 100 percent and quilts must be pieced together by machine.

'We don't hand sew anything but the binding,' Raabe said.

Nelson and Raabe are looking for more volunteers to help them with their cause, whether or not they are experienced.

'We're looking for volunteers to help cut, make quilts or donate fabrics,' Nelson said. 'It is very, very simple,' she added.

Raabe added that 'it's not just moms who sew. Guys can do it too.'

They hope to raise publicity by renting a venue - a church or community center, perhaps - to hold quilting workshops or an all day sew-a-thon."

--By Shirley Gao | Enterprise Correspondent | March 14, 2008