For the 2018 year, we’ve elected to broaden our philanthropic reach by working with multiple charitable organizations to provide quilts to a range of programs helping people in our community and beyond. This has enabled us to accept any size quilt designed for babies through adults.

Our goal this year is to donate 24 finished quilts. As of June, we are right on target with 12 completed quilts, and many more in progress! All of our finished projects can be seen on our Charity Quilts page.

All types of quilts, many projects

We are lucky to have members that are dedicated to making quilts for charitable causes, but we also always have a variety of ongoing group projects where members can make an individual charity block or take on a task, like binding, to complete a quilt. Projects have included curved block challenge, improv block challenge, arrow block challenge, and color challenge.

Labeling for legacy

We label all of our charity quilts so, no matter where our quilts travel, the new owner can know where it came from. But, we have redesigned our labels to make them easier to sew on, and they now include a QR code. Scanning the code will take you to a page that shows the quilt’s name, when it was made, and who worked on it.

Supporting our community

At a recent meeting, we had a group discussion and took names of charities, or types of charities from members. Suggestions included: foster moms/homes, battered women’s shelters, police or fire department, Shepherd’s Gate, Highland Hospital, Project Homeless Connect, ALS, Quilts for Kids, nursing homes, Alzheimer’s units, Unravel Cancer, Santa Clara Receiving and Assessment Intake Center, Quilts of Valor, SJ Quilt & Textile Museum quilts-for-guns event, Little Brothers / Friends of the Elderly (SF), Homeless Prenatal Program, My New Red Shoes, hospice agencies, Quilters Beyond Borders, Shriners Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, Bill Wilson Center. We took those ideas and have actively started contacting these organizations.

Our current list of supported charities includes:

	Bill Wilson Center supports and strengthens the community by serving youth and families through counseling, housing, education, and advocacy.
	Quilts for Kids is dedicated to brightening the lives of children who suffer from abuse or life-threatening illnesses with comforting quilts.
	Quilt Donation Drive for victims of the Sonoma & Napa fires.
	Ventura Modern Quilt Guild and Superbuzzy fabric store partnered to create and collect quilts for those affected by the Thomas Fire.
	JMQG of Broward County collected quilts to make “quillows” for the families and loved ones of victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
	Project Linus’ mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets, quilts and afghans.
	San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles is joining forces with The Mayor’s office, local City Council Districts, San Jose Police Department, and the Police Foundation to organize a unique gun buy-back program. In exchange for turning in a gun, each individual will receive cash AND a beautiful quilt.
	Quilts for Cure exists to raise awareness about childhood cancer, provide every child in the US being treated for cancer with a quilt, and honor the children who are fighting for their lives.
	The Orlando Modern Quilt Guild collected quilts and blocks for the victims of the shooting at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016. Our guild made three group quilts for this cause, plus two additional finished quilts donated by individual members.