Heartwarming stories from former students

Heartwarming storiesAt a recent Coffee Creek Quilters member meeting, several instructors reported heartwarming stories about students who have been released from CCCF. Normally we don’t have contact with former students after their release, but occasionally we receive emails or run into them in the community. Chris told us about a student who found a job at a Newberg hair salon within nine days of her release date. Julie ran into a former student who re-entered the workforce in her field as a physical therapist with a highly regarded Metro-area PT clinic. And Martha received a thank-you email for a CCQ release kit from a student who was so thrilled to receive a sewing machine that she set it up and started to use it as soon as she got home – didn’t even take her coat off.

A stitch in time saves lives

Jennifer works on her second quiltThe Coffee Creek Quilters program was featured in the article “Coffee Creek Quilters: A stitch in time saves lives” in the December issue of Country Pleasures Magazine. In addition to describing our program, the article provides a peak inside the classroom, introducing the reader to Jennifer and Mary Ann, a student and an instructor, respectively, in the Thursday class.

Jennifer had to overcome problems with ADHD and hand tremors to learn how to cut fabric, read a pattern, and operate a sewing machine. The article reports that “as a CCQ participant, she has acquired new, useful skills. She has learned patience. She has proven to herself she can accomplish very difficult tasks despite having ADHD and hand tremors.”

Mary Ann has been a volunteer with CCQ for seven years. The Country Pleasures article quotes her as saying “As soon as I visited the program, I knew I would enjoy it. Every week I experience heartwarming moments that validate why we’re here. Several weeks ago a student brought in a picture of her son holding the third quilt she’d made. It was a New York Yankee quilt because her son loves the Yankees. She told him whenever he felt sad or sick to put the quilt around him and it’d be like having his mommy’s arms around him.”

We invite you to read the full article.