Quilt Show and Craft Sale to Benefit Neighborhood Missions

By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times

Quilts, handmade crafts, and a chance to win a quilt will come together Sept. 26 to support Neighborhood Missions and its work providing food assistance to people throughout the Mount Hood community.

The fourth annual Quilt Show and Craft Sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hoodland Lutheran Church. Proceeds from the event will benefit Neighborhood Missions, a longtime community outreach program that provides emergency food and operates the monthly Free Food Market.

A quilt raffle will be part of this year's event, with tickets available for $5 each or five for $20. Tickets will be available at the door. Prior to the event, tickets can be purchased at Welches Mountain Building Supply.

The sale is organized by the Piece Makers Quilters, whose members meet weekly at Hoodland Lutheran Church. Although the group is not officially sponsored by the church, members have chosen Neighborhood Missions as the beneficiary of the annual event.

Along with quilts, shoppers will find a variety of handmade items, including knitted goods, crafts, jams and jellies, most made by members of the Piece Makers Quilters.

For Neighborhood Missions facilitator and volunteer Steve Carlson, the event is also an opportunity to remind residents that the organization is available throughout the month, not just during its well-known Free Food Market.

The market is held on the last Monday of each month at Hoodland Lutheran Church and provides fresh and shelf-stable food to anyone who needs it. But Carlson said organizers have noticed fewer people calling for emergency food between markets.

"We want to emphasize that people may still request boxes of food any time," he said.

People who need food between markets can call Neighborhood Missions at (503) 622-9213 and leave a message. Carlson said volunteers generally respond within 24 hours and can arrange to deliver food.

Emergency boxes primarily contain canned and other shelf-stable foods because Neighborhood Missions does not have facilities to store fresh meat and produce between markets. Volunteers can sometimes help obtain fresh food when there is a particular need, Carlson said.

Neighborhood Missions has served the mountain community for more than 30 years. It began through Hoodland Lutheran Church and continues to operate under the church's nonprofit status, but Carlson said the organization has deliberately worked to become a broader community resource.

"Our goal has been to be community based," he said, so that people feel comfortable seeking help regardless of their connection to the church.

The organization is entirely volunteer-run. Carlson said about seven people serve on the board, with roughly 20 volunteers regularly helping at the monthly Free Food Market.

Neighborhood Missions is currently concentrating its resources on food assistance. Carlson said the organization previously helped residents with expenses such as rent, utilities, and gas, but has curtailed those programs as it directs more of its resources toward providing food.

Monetary donations, along with fundraisers such as the Quilt Show and Craft Sale, help Neighborhood Missions purchase additional food for distribution.

For Carlson, the message is simple: The monthly food market may be the organization's most visible program, but people who need food do not have to wait until the last Monday of the month to ask for help.

Neighborhood Missions can be reached at (503) 622-9213.