To help make the hospital stay less frightening for children, the Quilts
for Kids organization recently delighted North Oaks Medical Center Pediatrics
Unit patients and their parents with a donation of 20 handmade quilts.
The quilts were made by the students of Quilts for Kids’ Representative
and Home Economics teacher Donna Rhodes at Bonifay Middle School in Bonifay, Florida.
The quilts are made in the name of Quilts for Kids, a non-profit organization
of volunteer quilters who transform fabrics into quilts to comfort children
in need. Rhodes’ sixth, seventh and eighth grade students sewed
the quilts as part of a community service project. Each quilt is made
with fabric chosen by the student and packaged with a handwritten note
and picture from the student to the recipient.
“Sewing the quilts gives my students a sense of accomplishment and
a passion for helping others,” affirms Rhodes.
Quilts for Kids was founded in August 2000 by Linda Arye, whose daughter
was hospitalized and unable to have her favorite stuffed animal to hold
on to because of allergens. The experience inspired Arye to use discontinued
designer fabrics to make washable patchwork quilts for children in need.
Quilts for Kids now has more than 100 chapters and distributes quilts
to children’s hospitals and shelters across North America. For more
information about Quilts for Kids, visit www.quiltsforkids.org.