Disaster Relief Quilting

If you are looking for the Disaster Relief Quilting Schedule, it can be found on this page.

Formed in the 1980s, our quilting group began as a small group, meeting out once a month to assemble quilts for various causes, including LWR Mission Quilts. The first quilts were made from used clothing, soon followed by donated cotton fabric. We made and blessed about 15 Quilts a year.

In 2004, we decided to try for 50 Quilts, in honor of our congregation’s 50^th anniversary and increased sewing days to two a month.  Then in December of that same year came the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

People in our community were stunned by the devastation in Southeast Asia. They began asking what they could do that would make a difference.

So we came up with an idea to hold a quilting marathon for tsunami victims. The marathon would go from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the we would provide snacks, lunch and supper for volunteers. We advertised in the Valley News and made it clear that all were welcome to join men and women, young and old, novice and experienced sewers.

Sixty-seven people showed up for the marathon and made 32 Quilts! But they had a question we didn’t expect: When is the next quilting marathon?

Empowered by this enthusiasm, we decided to host two more quilting marathons early the next year.

By 2005, our quilters were meeting bi-monthly for three-hour sewing sessions with three additional marathons. That year we made 103 Quilts.

In 2008 our church reached out to Kurt Nelson, then a campus chaplain working with the Dartmouth’s Tucker Foundation, which provided service opportunities for Dartmouth students. This led to the first of many quilt marathons on campus.

Quilting is a way for us to put our hands on fabric that will truly help one person, one family, one village. Participants have said things such as, “I am so grateful to have something concrete to do that will really mean something to someone in need.”

We know that anyone can quilt. Don’t know how to sew? We’ll teach you. Not sure how to design a quilt top? Use one of our quilt top kits! We make it easy to participate.