Hoodland 'piecemaker' offers some comfort around the world posted on 03/01/2023
Arlene Glueck, a member of the Mount Hood area Piecemakers
quilting group, is proof that you don’t have to go very far to make a big
difference.
As a volunteer for the non-profit organization Quilts Beyond
Borders (QBB) she has steadily produced quilts that are shipped to children in
need around the world from the home she has resided in for years.
In early December, this modern day “Rosie the Riveter”
contributed 30 quilts that were shipped to Ukrainian refugees in Poland in a
show of support during their ongoing war. The quilts were largely made with
materials donated to Arlene by the Piecemakers.
“I can’t solve the conflict, but I can give a kid a
blanket,” Glueck said. “I’ll never meet them, and they’ll never meet me but at
least it’s something.”
Glueck’s quilts were part of 185 quilts contributed by the
northwest chapter of QBB to Ukrainian refugees in Poland in December.
The organization has partnered with Jeremiah’s Hope, an
Abilene, Texas non-profit, to assure the quilts will be properly distributed to
the refugees. Jeremiah’s Hope has been sending shipping containers from Abilene
to the dispossessed since the beginning of the war.
Glueck filled Hoodland Lutheran Church, the site of the
Piecemakers weekly meetings, with the quilts before they were shipped off to
provide warmth to children in need.
And her contributions extend beyond the war in Ukraine. She
has previously donated quilts to QBB that were sent to Ethiopian refugee camps,
an orphanage in Israel and Syrian refugees abroad and in the United States.
“They go all over the world,” Glueck said.
QBB’s mission is to reach out to under-served children,
mainly orphans, across the world to “provide a handmade quilt and spread love
and hope.” According to QBB, more than 140 million children in the world today
have lost one or both parents. QBB was created in March 2007 to support these
children.
QBB provides specifications to volunteers interested in
donating quilts. Each quilt must be “washable in primitive conditions” and made
from “good fabric.” The organization requests that donations are approximately
twin sized. QBBs guidelines state the size is preferred because, “(it) works
well for small children, and when an older child ages out of an orphanage at 17
or 18, it is large enough to wrap up in and small enough to be carried in a
backpack, so it doesn’t become a burden if the recipient ends up living on the
streets.”
“I make my quilts full of color,” Glueck said. “I’m sending
a piece of myself out there; I want it to be nice.”
Each quilt has a label that reads, “Quilts Beyond Borders,
Made for You with Love, By (name(s) of the quiltmaker(s)), Belongs To (child’s
name will go here).”
The quiltmaker signs their work, and the child adds their
name when they receive their quilt.
“In a lot of places kids don’t own anything. They’re just
getting out with a suitcase,” Glueck stated.
“Arlene is a very special person. She has a heart for
children in need,” said Susan Schmidt, Vice President, and NW Regional
Coordinator for QBB.
Schmidt stated that Arlene’s contributions were part of the
1,600 quilts produced and sent from the northwest chapter of QBB in 2022. In
total, QBB has donated 30,000 quilts since 2007. The group’s efforts continue in the new year.
Most recently, more than 200 quilts were sent from the
northwest in response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Glueck plans to remain busy contributing to the
organization.
“I can’t solve the world’s problems, but I can make a quilt
for a child in need,” she said.
More information about Quilts Beyond Borders, including
submittal guidelines, is available online at Quiltsbeyondborders.wordpress.com.
The Piecemakers quilting group meets weekly from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. on each Thursday at Hoodland Lutheran Church, 59151 Hwy. 26. The group
welcomes interested community members.
By Ben Simpson/MT
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