ATHABASCA — It’s been 16 years since they started and even though COVID-19 separated them for a while, Quilting for Humanity (QFH) is back in a big way.
While the group was unable to meet, several members continued to quilt at home so there were some seed quilts to get the pile started once they returned, with a total of 214 quilts being donated to Athabasca Santa’s Anonymous, the Athabasca Good Samaritan Ministries Association, and a successful online auction that raised $6,000.
“It was a lot easier than running a raffle, and we probably made twice as much money.” " said president Yvonne Doroshenko in a Dec. 15 interview.
“We also gave 69 to the (Good Samaritan) Mission and several to some cancer patients. If we hear of a person who's got cancer and is undergoing treatments, we try to give them all a quilt whether they go through Road to Hope or not, because a lot of them don't, they have families that transport them so, we don't want to miss anybody. Some of them are terminal and they don't go anywhere. We just want to provide some comfort.”
Like everyone else being forced to adapt, the Athabasca non-profit, whose members sews hugs from grandma into quilts of all sizes that anyone would gladly wrap around themselves, has finally returned to meeting once a month, although with smaller numbers, she said.
“Some kind of aged out and some are afraid to come out. One moved away,” said Doroshenko. “Yeah, it's a smaller group, but very determined.”
Every month the group, now limited to 10 under COVID-19 protocols, meet in the Athabasca Legion basement where they pull out bolts and bolts and more bolts of fabric, many sewing machines, irons and more quilting equipment to create extraordinary gifts, for free, for those in need and cancer patients. They even donated many during the Slave Lake and Fort McMurray fires and flooding.
The ongoing expense is quite high, Doroshenko said.
“A lot of our plain fabric that we make the tops out of, we buy, but a lot of it is donated. But the batting and the flannel for the back is all bought.”
And as generous as QFH is, they were overwhelmed by the support for the online auction.
“We just were very impressed with how generous people were with the auction. We of course didn't have any idea what to expect because we've never done it before. So, it was a pleasant surprise,” she said. “And what I found interesting is when they picked up the prizes at the Legion while we were quilting, they were like, ‘Wow!’ The majority of them had no idea what we do. So, it was good to pick up when we were actually there working because then they could see our sweatshop.”
Doroshenko said if anyone is interested in joining them, regardless of skill level, they are more than welcome to e-mail [email protected] or text 780-689-1723.
