As part of its commitment to charitable outreach, the Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild has an annual line-up of charitable initiatives during the Christmas holiday season.
One of the most noteworthy efforts each year is the contribution made to the Dr. F. H. Wigmore Regional Hospital.
“We contribute to the Wigmore Hospital and do pillowcases for the children’s ward. Children can pick out whatever pillowcase they want, and they can take it home with them when they’re done,” explained the guild’s president, Ann Richey.
In addition to the pillowcases, the guild also makes quilts for kids in crisis. Similar to the pillowcases donated to the hospital, children can keep a quilt of their choosing and then take it home with them. This helps provide a sense of continuity and comfort in an otherwise uncertain environment.
“It’s a little bit of ease for (the child’s) fear over something new,” Richey said.
The guild also provides quilts for the hospital’s dialysis unit. “(Patients) are presented with their own quilt and a bag that they carry it back and forth with,” Richey explained. The bag is useful as the quilts cannot be washed as frequently as the hospital blankets and gowns are and need to be taken home when the patient leaves the unit.
She said the quilts are quite popular among both children and patients undergoing dialysis.
The Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild also helps senior groups and individuals within the community. One example of this support is through making and donating custom-made placemats. The gesture seems fairly straightforward, but for individuals celebrating the holidays alone or without familiar faces, it can make a big difference.
“We do placemats for Christmas Day dinner for all the elderly care homes in the neighbourhood, Meals on Wheels, and for the (Dr. F. H. Wigmore Regional) Hospital,” Richey said.
“Every year on average… we hand out about 350 placemats to people that will be confined on Christmas Day, so they get their Christmas dinner on a nice, new, bright placemat.” The cheerful placemat helps remind individuals that they’re being thought of, and in many cases, they offer a welcome sense of nostalgia from the days of home-cooked meals with loved ones.
Later in November, the Prairie Heart Quilter’s Guild will be contributing to Square One Community Inc.’s upcoming silent auction.
“We will contribute a quilt to (Square One’s) silent auction,” Richey confirmed. The quilt will be donated without cost and proceeds will be donated to the cause.
To make these contributions possible and to host workshops for guild members, Vanier Collegiate has partnered with Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild and allows the quilters to make use of the school’s art room during the school’s off-hours.
Richey said the group helps out wherever they see a need in the community, and they’re not limited to their usual annual contributions. “We just kind of help out wherever it’s needed in the community,” she confirmed.
“It’s a very active group,” Richey said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie.”
For more information on the Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild, visit PrairieHeartsQuilters.com.
The guild can also be contacted by sending an email to [email protected].
In response to some providers blocking access to Canadian news on their platforms, our website, MooseJawToday.com will continue to be your source for hyper-local Moose Jaw news. Bookmark MooseJawToday.com and sign up for our free online newsletter to read the latest local developments.
