Augusta State Quilt Show
Yesterday Mr. Wrap-A-Smile and I spent the day meeting new people and spreading the word about both WAS and Rotary. We were one of only three displays in the charity category, sharing space with Quilts of Valor and Project Linus, two other national programs meeting local needs.
The human connections and all the stories are what keep me going with this project. Two people shared their stories of an adopted boy from China and an adopted girl from Guatemala, both of whom had their cleft anomalies repaired in the US. They understood how life changing these surgeries are and how a quilt could be comforting during such an emotional procedure.
A middle school geometry teacher told me about the student quilting projects she leads. Her school has an integrated concept where for a week at a time, a special project that would use multiple disciples can be undertaken. All quilters understand shapes, angles, sequences, rotations... geometry, right?? The students quickly learned that math has applications! And of course, Art and Design were important, English to write a pattern, Logic and Efficiency to sequence the work. Sewing machines were brought in and quilts got finished in the course of the week. (Doesn't that sound like fun?)
Another teacher quilts with 7th and 8th grade girls in the Midwest, in an after school program. Someone actually donated a long arm to the program (!) and the girls have a wonderful time making quilts for a variety of community outreach programs. To date all of their efforts have been for local programs. This teacher thought Wrap-A-Smile would be a great opportunity to discuss international and cultural awareness with the girls.
Speaking of international awareness, a discussion I often have with quilters is whether we "take care of those at home" or send our efforts abroad. I have met quilters with strong feelings either way and I like to share how our Rotary Club in Boothbay Harbor portions its philanthropy. Out of our local fundraising efforts, 85% is returned to a variety of needs and projects in our local community. The remaining 15% supports Rotary-related endeavors abroad (clean water, health, education, etc). I am comfortable that we take care of our neighbors first, but that we remember that we truly are part of a larger world.
I enjoyed having that conversation with my new quilting friends in Bridgton, Maine, who are planning to add Wrap-A-Smile to their endeavors as they have previously only quilted for local programs.
By the end of the day I was delighted to notice that almost all of our WAS brochures had disappeared! I will be looking forward to new speaking opportunities, and hopefully many more quilts to wrap our special patients.
(And the State Quilt Show itself was GREAT - eye candy and inspiration galore!)
The human connections and all the stories are what keep me going with this project. Two people shared their stories of an adopted boy from China and an adopted girl from Guatemala, both of whom had their cleft anomalies repaired in the US. They understood how life changing these surgeries are and how a quilt could be comforting during such an emotional procedure.
A middle school geometry teacher told me about the student quilting projects she leads. Her school has an integrated concept where for a week at a time, a special project that would use multiple disciples can be undertaken. All quilters understand shapes, angles, sequences, rotations... geometry, right?? The students quickly learned that math has applications! And of course, Art and Design were important, English to write a pattern, Logic and Efficiency to sequence the work. Sewing machines were brought in and quilts got finished in the course of the week. (Doesn't that sound like fun?)
Another teacher quilts with 7th and 8th grade girls in the Midwest, in an after school program. Someone actually donated a long arm to the program (!) and the girls have a wonderful time making quilts for a variety of community outreach programs. To date all of their efforts have been for local programs. This teacher thought Wrap-A-Smile would be a great opportunity to discuss international and cultural awareness with the girls.
Speaking of international awareness, a discussion I often have with quilters is whether we "take care of those at home" or send our efforts abroad. I have met quilters with strong feelings either way and I like to share how our Rotary Club in Boothbay Harbor portions its philanthropy. Out of our local fundraising efforts, 85% is returned to a variety of needs and projects in our local community. The remaining 15% supports Rotary-related endeavors abroad (clean water, health, education, etc). I am comfortable that we take care of our neighbors first, but that we remember that we truly are part of a larger world.
I enjoyed having that conversation with my new quilting friends in Bridgton, Maine, who are planning to add Wrap-A-Smile to their endeavors as they have previously only quilted for local programs.
By the end of the day I was delighted to notice that almost all of our WAS brochures had disappeared! I will be looking forward to new speaking opportunities, and hopefully many more quilts to wrap our special patients.
(And the State Quilt Show itself was GREAT - eye candy and inspiration galore!)
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