This past week I finished the second of the two quilts I'd picked up during my burst of humanitarian goodness a few months ago. Quite frankly, I was happy to get it out of my hair because it seemed like it had taken FOREVER for me to finish it. I whipped through piecing it, then got kind of hung up in tying and binding it. I guess my impulsive feelings of goodwill were waning a little bit more than I wanted to admit.
Anyway, the Humanitarian Services Center is only open a couple of days a week, and I really wanted to get it turned in this week. When work called early Tuesday morning and asked if I could come in extra, I agreed to help out as long as I could be off by a certain time. I left close to the appointed time and went home to pick up the quilt so I could drop it off. When I got there, a worker at Deseret Industries--the center is inside D.I.--said that the center had already closed for the day. Just missed it. However, I did see a lone worker through the window, sorting through quilt squares. I tentatively knocked, and she was gracious enough to answer and come and take my quilt.
This nice, sincere sister was also gracious enough to answer my questions. Since she was alone (busy but with no one breathing down her neck to get something finished), I figured I could ask her a few things I had always wondered about. First, she confirmed that almost all of the materials for the quilts were donated. The Church does buy all of the batting and will sometimes get fabric for the backing. But most of it, she said, comes from generous donations from members. Wow!
I asked her how many quilts were made in the Treasure Valley each year, and she mentally started to calculate the number. She said that there are 27 (or 29?) stakes in the valley and surrounding areas and that each stake probably has about ten wards. Each ward is asked to make four quilts a year, so she figured that that was a little more than a thousand a year. She also said that she thought they actually exceeded the quota every year. Good for us!
I asked here where the quilts went. She said that the vast majority of them are shipped to Church headquarters in Salt Lake City. From there they are distributed to needy families around the world. I wondered if any went to needy church members here. What she said next quite surprised me. She stated that most of the quilts went to nonmembers all over the world. That made me smile. In a world that seems rife with rather negative news, it's nice to hear that good stuff still happens.
This sweet sister seemed happy to talk, and she then shared with me another program they were involved in--kids' pajamas! She excitedly showed me the little kits that were being assembled for people to pick up and take to make into children's jammies. She showed me one set that was partly done, and it was just the cutest little set of PJ's. I asked her where those would end up. She said that typically those would be donated to surrounding charitable agencies. When the center has a bunch of them finished, they simply call an agency and say, "Could you use 300 pairs of kids' pajamas?" Of course, the agency is thriled and snaps them right up. Now, how cool is that?
I wish I could say I picked up four more quilts to do or lots of pajama sets. However, I just dropped off the quilt and decided to take a bit of break. I know our ward is planning a project soon, though, and I will happily participate. It's pretty cool to be involved in such an undertaking.
One more thought I had recently: Mike and I are closer to being empty nesters than I want to believe. Matt had a piano recital the week before last, and as I was waiting for him to play, I reflected on just how many recitals and games and concerts I've been to over the years. Then I thought about how few of those events I have left in comparison. And it made me sad. . . . It has been such a trip to watch my kids in all of their events over the years and see how much they've progressed. There are few things better in life than watching your little ones grow into adults. Seeing a child come into the world is always a miracle. Watching them mature and develop sometimes seems like an even bigger miracle.
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