It came full circle.....

Thursday evening in Boothbay Harbor is always Rotary evening and tonight we had special guests. Terry Hodskins Fullam, founder of Wrap-A-Smile, came to visit with two of her fellow Rotarians from the Wells (Maine) Rotary Club. Terry is not shy in front of a microphone. With a bit of drama and humor she described how the Boothbay club was one of her earliest supporters when WAS was in its infancy.  She had reached out to our club for help with quilting and was not deterred when the answer was "No".  This was before I had moved to Maine, but as she tells it, the Boothbay Rotarians countered with "how else can we help"?  They offered a $500 donation which covered some early publicity, some shipping costs, and the fun of a fabric shopping spree for her quilting friends.  And Wrap-A-Smile was launched!

Tonight Terry surprised me by handing me a check from the Wells Rotary in the same amount that Boothbay Harbor had shared 18 years ago to help fund her project.  As she said, "here's your money back"!  Shipping costs were, and continue to be, the primary expense encountered as we get our quilts shipped to the medical missions. Their generous donation will cover the shipping of enough quilts for two complete missions.  And I am grateful!

As I thanked them for their donation, I said Terry is a classic example of "one Rotarian with a good idea" who pushed ahead.  Her idea was accepted and supported by her club for the next 18 years. When I took over the project a year ago, it was decided that WAS should belong to our whole Rotary District of 40 clubs, widening the net of support.  And now we are in the process of developing regional coordinators around the country so that we can get more quilts to more kids.  Quite a story!

My thanks to Terry for her inspiration and friendship. It was a fun evening.

Oh.... and here is Terry giving me her second (ever) quilt that she has personally made for WAS.

Current WAS Director Ann D  with  WAS Founder Terry F