What a Year!

2022 was a record for us – 4626 Quilts Delivered!!   The “second place” year was 3578 quilts, so we topped our prior record by over 1000 quilts!  

We continued to partner with charitable organizations who distribute our quilts to foster and troubled children in the US, refugee programs around the world, and others serving children in need in the US and around the world. The groups receiving the most quilts in 2022 were:

Comfort Cases (Foster children around the US)

Salaam Cultural Museum (SCM) (As part of their medical missions to refugees around the world)

Jeremiah’s Hope (Ukraine Refugees)

Quilted Twins (Ukraine Refugees)

Forgotten People (Navajo Nation Holiday giving) – this partnership is one of our most enduring – over 10 years strong!

In 2022 we had a lot to be thankful for – we returned to Houston for IQF and loved seeing all your smiling faces after a long absence! We also have two new Regional Coordinators, who will grow our outreach and are both working with guilds to bring more quilts to us.

Unfortunately, 2022 brought sadness as well. Our beloved friend Carol Egan – prolific quilter, enthusiastic Fat Quarter Challenge Coordinator and overall Quilts Beyond Borders champion – passed away in December after a brief illness. Others on our team of volunteers are on the mend from serious health issues and losses. We are so grateful to our volunteer team and to the many hundreds of quilters across the US and around the world who keep making our mission possible. Thank you!

2023 promises to be busy as well, we have already committed to delivering over 1500 quilts to several returning partners and new ones, stay tuned and get quilting! Learn more here about the sizes and types of quilts we can take.

Thank you!

Carla Triemer, QBB President

From the Northwest and Beyond – Comfort Cases and Guardian Light Programs

                               Comfort Cases Program

   Our NW group continues to support Comfort Cases, a program for children going into foster homes. Backpacks are filled with personal care and comfort items along with quilts to be given to children and youth across the country. We are happy to share 34 quilts to help meet the needs of these children.

                           Guardian Light Program

 We were excited to send 10 quilts to Guardian Light Family Services in Sidney, Nebraska. This organization serves abused children and those entering foster homes. Their services include working with families to provide safe and healthy environments for children and youth along with training and support to foster families.

Thank you to all our quilters for providing beautiful colorful quilts that will bring comfort to children and youth as they begin living in a new home! You can click on each picture for the names of piecers and quilters. 

Susan Schmidt – Northwest Regional Coordinator

From the Northwest and Beyond – Quilts for Orphans in Israel

These 34 quilts have traveled from Georgia to Israel with the Massay Yahdav group. This organization helps children in orphanages in Israel. Some of these children are orphans or have been removed from their homes due to abuse. We hope they will find comfort in the quilts provided. We appreciate so much the beautiful quilts provided and the support from all the quilters in the NW and Beyond group. You can click on each picture to see who quilted and pieced them.

Susan Schmidt –  NW Regional Coordinator

Special Comfort Cases Delivery from the Northeast Quilters

Greetings of this beautiful season and happy new year to all of you! 

It was a bit chilly, but kinda’ pretty when Lily and I photographed the recent delivery of your beautiful quilts, now on their way to Rockville, Maryland, national headquarters for Comfort Cases.  As you know, Comfort Cases fills backpacks with essential and fun things for kids entering foster care. 

Recently QBB had a special request from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to supply 7 teenage girls, who have had a life of homelessness, sexual trafficking, and more awful situations than we can possibly imagine, with quilts that would supplement the essential items that the department gives them.  We contacted Comfort Cases who will take on this specific request. This was the perfect solution for us to be able to deliver quilts to these young ladies. I included a number of your larger quilts in the delivery in order to give the older girls appropriate sized quilts. 

Shown below are the quilts and names of the quilters and piecers. Thank you, thank you, as always!! 

Karen, Northeast QBB Coordinator

From Connecticut: Nancy Ralston, Donna Motyl, Leesa Plude, Diane Carlson, Sue Sweeney, Paula Place, Peg Thomsen, Kim Bennett, Donna Killoran, Rita Gladych; From New Hampshire: Nancy Lockhart; From Vermont: Judith Nuno; From Rhode Island: Lois Gardner; From Massachusetts: Pam Belanger, Bonnie Salt, Randee Majka

From the Northwest and Beyond – Warm Christmas Gifts for the Navajo Nation

We are pleased to provide 65 quilts to the Navajo Nation for their annual Christmas Celebration and delivery. Children and the elderly will receive these quilts to help stay warm during the cold winter months. The bright colors and beautiful patterns were made by our quilters who share their gifts and talents throughout the year. As always, we will share pictures of the holiday parties and quilt distributions when we receive them.

Thanks to all the quilters for their help and support!

Susan Schmidt –  NW Regional Coordinator

Winter Holiday Deliveries from the Northeast

The need goes on, especially as the holidays are upon us. Today we give thanks for our outreach, our ability to touch people in need. This holiday season, the Northeast team sent 20 quilts to the foster children’s program, Comfort Cases, headquartered in Rockville Maryland. The quilters and piecers listed below created these beauties. 

In the second gallery below you will see the quilts and names of the quilters whose quilts will be going to Bennett Freeze area, on the Navajo reservation. We sent a huge shipment to “The Forgotten People” in October and have 20 more shown below for a second shipment, adding to the 500 from the entire QBB national team in time for their annual Christmas celebration. 

Many thanks, as always, for your continued dedication and good work. – Karen M

Comfort Cases Gallery

Lily sends doggie tail wags and thanks to: Judith Nuno – Vermont; Sue Sweeney, Paula Place – Connecticut; Fran Fink – Massachusetts; Joanne Wortman – New York; Linda Chaffee – Rhode Island

Navajos Gallery:

Thank you to: Judith Nuno from Vermont, Joanne Wortman from New York.

Warm Hugs for Kids and Comfort Cases

Quilts Beyond Borders and Wrap-A-Smile are still enjoying their collaboration to provide quilts to Comfort Cases.  The need goes on, and we hope that each one of these handmade treasures will help to brighten the transition as a child enters foster care. 

Thank you to all who pieced and finished the quilts below, sent off during the fall to Comfort Cases Headquarters in Rockville, MD.  “It takes a village”, and we are hoping to expand our village of helpers here in the Southeast. Please enjoy these beautiful pictures, and you can click on each picture to see it larger and to see the maker’s names.

Ann Demeranville – one of the Southeast Coordinators

From The Northwest & Beyond – More Quilts to Jeremiahs’ Hope for Ukraine Refugees

We are so happy to continue providing quilts to the Ukrainian Refugees who are settling outside the borders of Ukraine. Jeremiah’s Hope has been sending containers from Abilene TX since the beginning of the war. These 185 quilts have been sent to Texas over the last few months to travel in their containers.

The beautiful colors and quilting will hopefully provide comfort and joy to the children receiving them. A special thank you to all the quilters who have made these quilts and have a heart for children in need. You are appreciated for all you do for QBB!!

Please click on the pictures to get a closer look to see the names of the piecers and quilters.

Susan Schmidt – Northwest Regional Coordinator

From the Northwest and Beyond – Hundreds of Quilts for SCM

 I continue to be amazed at the workings and organization of the Salaam Cultural Museum, a humanitarian group based in Seattle WA. The past 5 months we have sent them 392 quilts from the NW group. Here is where the quilts have been going..
There are now Syrian, Afghan and Ukrainian Refugees who have settled in Washington.  Quilts are given to children when families begin the settlement process and have a place to live. They also provide computers, bicycles, sewing machines, hygiene items and school supplies.

Overseas travel has begun again so quilts are being hand carried in luggage to Jordan and Lebanon for the Syrian Refugees still living in the refugee camps. Since the Syrian war began in 2011 more than half of the 22 million population have fled their homes. Of that group 6.8 million have fled abroad. Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon are hosting 84% of that group. The largest refugee camp is in Jordan and houses 80,000 Syrians who have been there for over 10 years. Some of the camps have begun to provide shelters other than tents and have schools, stores, business and medical clinics. Sadly there is no sign of this war ending.

Quilts will be going for the first time to the Sunshine Orphanage in Luxor Egypt. A home for abandoned or orphaned children to live in until they are college age. Children are educated there and given emotional support along with a variety of other services.

Thank you to all the quilters who have helped provide the cheerful and warm quilts to children who have suffered so much. I know that the quilts are appreciated and loved! 

You can click on the pictures to see who pieced and quilted each quilt.

Susan Schmidt – Northwest Regional Coordinator 

Fall Quilts for OCJ Kids in Arizona

The temps have begun to drop in Arizona. Yes, it does get chilly this time of year in the Phoenix area and cold and snowy winter conditions in northern Arizona are common.  The quilts we provided to OCJ Kids in Phoenix have been warming hearts as well as keeping recipients warm.  

OCJ Kids partners with local community businesses, clubs, churches and individuals with children in foster care to meet needs not met through the government systems.  OCJ stands for Opportunity, Community and Justice for Kids.  The organization helps foster kids of all ages, including helping to launch the kids who are aging out of the system. Check out the OCJ Kids website for a glimpse of all they do at  https://www.ocjkids.org 

Recently, OCJ Kids distributed several New Mom bags for girls leaving the system with babies on the way.  Those bags included a quilt from Quilts Beyond Borders for those precious little ones coming soon.  Quilts have also been distributed to children who are going back home! 

The photos below show the quilts provided to OCJ Kids this fall. Thank you to the many quilters from the Southwest, including the Heart and Hand group in Texas, who lovingly made these quilts for our OCJ Kids partner. You can click on each image to view it larger and to see the maker’s names.

Sherree N. – QBB Arizona Regional Coordinator