Mt. Sophia Ideas

Quilting is one of my favorite hobbies. I find it very relaxing to quilt by hand, sitting down in front of the television or reading a book or riding in a car and making something beautiful out of a thousand tiny pieces of fabric. There are plenty of things you can do with a quilt that’s been finished: give it away, sell it, use it — or give it to charity.

There are three ways I’ve found of using my quilts to help charities I like:

1) Sell the quilt and give the proceeds to your charity of choice.

The internet has created many more avenues for selling crafts than were available 20 years ago. The biggest site for selling handmade goods is Etsy.com. All sorts of artists list their quilts, clothes, pottery, illustrations, toys, etc. You can also use eBay, or create your own website/blog, or come up with another creative way of getting your items out there.

The disadvantage of this method is that you generally have to put effort into marketing your sale because there are so many things available online that the right buyer could easily pass you by.

2) Give the quilt to a charity that can use it directly.

There are a number of charities which take quilts (specifically) and give them to people who need them. One group I donated a number of quilts to while I lived in Delaware was Quilts for Comfort. From their website:

Our quilts are delivered to at-risk babies and young children in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. And we have decided that you are never too old for a security blanket, a Quilt for Comfort, so we have expanded our program to include adults in need of comfort.

Quilts for Comfort are being delivered to the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and patients receiving dialysis at Christiana Hospital.

If you’re not living near one such quilting charity, you can often mail them (though check with the contact person first). To find one in your region, try using Google to search for “quilting charity” and “your region.”

There are other groups, such as homeless shelters, which may be able to use quilts. Always check first unless they say up front that they take donations of quilts, knitted blankets, shawls, hats, etc.

3)Give the quilt to a charity that sells them.

There is at least one charitable organization which auctions off quilts (there may be others for other crafts, but I haven’t had occasion to use them). Over a year ago, when I was looking for charitable organizations which take quilts, I found the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative: Priority Alzheimer’s project. Since my grandfather died of senile dementia (akin to Alzheimer’s), it seemed like a perfect place to donate.

The AAQI takes donations of tiny art quilts, no larger than 9″x12″ and auctions them off to raise money for Alzheimer’s research. This can be part of a great kids project whether in memory of a grandparent or relative who had Alzheimer’s or simply as a way of helping people.

Photos of quilts that have already sold can be found on their site. You can also check out the ones I’ve made so far.

Whatever crafting you do, you can do help others.

Related posts:

• Cool Idea if Your Family Doesn’t Have Healthcare
• Quote of the Week