Foresters donates fabric for patriotic quilts
The Independent Order of Foresters is partnering with Coffee Creek Quilters to make quilts for patients at the Portland VA Medical Center. Foresters purchased enough patriotic-themed fabrics and quilt batting for 14 quilts. Then volunteers from Foresters and CCQ came together on March 15th for a kit-making session. Over the next few months, students in the quilting classes at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility will sew the quilts. When the quilts are finished, Foresters volunteers will deliver the throw-sized quilts to the veterans. Funding for the fabric purchase comes from the Foresters Community Grants program, an initiative that enables Foresters members to apply for grants of up to $2,500 to fund volunteer activities that are meaningful to them and to their own communities.
Occasionally we hear from former CCQ students after they’ve been released from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Trish L. sent us an email expressing her gratitude for the quilting skills we taught her and for giving her a healthy outlet to cope. She attached this picture of her Mom cuddling with the quilt Trish made for her in the Thursday class. Trish is settling into her new life and has started working on another quilt from a kit we gave her.
The 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.