A Santa Maria quilting guild has been hard at work with various fabrics, cutting cloths of different colors into shapes that fit together, all in the service of local children who need a little help.
The All American Quilting Guild of Santa Maria is made up of women with a desire to make a difference in the lives of people who are in need, one quilt at a time.
Their beneficiaries for this most recent project fall under the umbrella of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), an organization that helps children who are put in foster care by meeting their essential needs. Their goal is to prevent abused, neglected, and abandoned children from becoming lost in the juvenile dependency system, so members work to find the children safe, permanent homes as soon as possible.
The guild has touched the lives of more than half of the children in the CASA program through their effort to make unique quilts for each of the kids.
Kim Davis, CASA volunteer manager of Santa Barbara County, said, “The CASA children have been thrilled with having their own special, handmade quilt. The reaction of the CASA advocates [who volunteer to spend time with and advocate for the kids] was just spectacular. They responded immediately when I let them know the quilts had been donated, and they went through each one, choosing the right one for their CASA child. They were amazed by the quality, selection, and generosity of the quilting guild.
“This has been such a fabulous gift from these ladies,” Davis added. “I truly wish they could have seen the faces of the volunteer advocates when they saw the quilts.”
To add to the excitement, the guild said members are happy to make more quilts for the kids in the program.
For more information, contact CASA of Santa Barbara County or Volunteer Manager Davis at 739-9102.
Intern Gabby Hendriksen compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 9-16, 2009.
