Helping Hands Reaching Out!
Los Angeles Veterans Quilt Project
The mission of the Los Angeles Veterans Quilt Project is to thank our veterans and their families touched by war for their service to our country.
Valley Quiltmakers Guild members join forces with the San Fernando Vallehy Quilt Associations and together these two groups have made and donated more than 2,000 quilts to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. This project has become so successful that we are now supporting other veteran organizations.
We meet on the third Tuesday of every month from 10 - 3PM. We are pleased to welcome you to work with us on this worthwhile project. Contact Karen Van Den Brink through the website: https://lavetsquiltproj.org
Doll Quilts for Needy Little Girls
Each year, members of the San Fernando Valley Woodworkers, get together to design, and build toys for underprivileged children. Valley Quiltmakers support this effort by handmaking doll quilts that wrap a baby doll in a handmade cradle. These children receive the toys as gifts during the holiday season. The San Fernando Valley Woodworkers donate between seven and eight hundred toys each year, to approximately 14 charitable organizations in the San Fernando Valley. We are proud to contribute our talents to this cause.
Pillows cases for Foster Children
The Valley Quiltmakers Guild are ardent supporters of the "Hilltoppers Assisstance League of Los Angeles County". The Hilltoppers provides emergency clothing and supplies to children referred by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). These supplies are distributed through the Foster Children’s Resource Center (FCRC) located in the San Fernando Valley.
Members of the Valley Quiltmakers Guild handmake pillowcases that are given to children and used by them to carry their few possessions from home to home. This is often the only item that they are allowed to keep.
My Stuff Bags
My Stuff Bags Foundation addresses the needs of children – who must leave everything behind when they are rescued from abuse, neglect or abandonment and enter foster care, or who must flee with their mothers to the safety of a battered women’s home. Tragically, these children enter shelters with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Valley Quiltmakers Guild supports "My Sutff Bag" by hand-making quilts that are the child's to keep.
Penny Lane
To foster hopes and dreams by empowering children, youth and families to reach their
highest potential.
Valley Quiltmakers' members provide pillowcases for foster children, make Stockings and stuff them for the holidays and create "fund drives" to provide needed supplies, like socks and underwear to children with immediate needs.
If you're interested in helping, contact Kathy Calagias. kcalagias@yahoo.com. For more information about Penny Lane:
Turtle Pillows
In conjunction with Candy's Quiltworks, members of the Valley Quiltmakers Guild support the Painted Turtle Camp by assisting in making "Turtle Pillows" for children attending the camp.
Children with serious medical conditions celebrate just being kids at the Painted Turtle Camp! The camp is offered free of charge.
To learn more about The Painted Turtle Camp check out their website: http://thepaintedturtle.org
Valley Quiltmakers Support California Disaster Relief
United Way of Greater Los Angeles Announces Disaster Relief Fund for Hill and Woolsey Fires
New Southern California Disaster Relief Fund will support low-income Southern Californians affected by current fires and will be updated real time for individuals and families in other affected areasUnited Way of Greater Los Angeles announced today that it has opened a Southern California Disaster Relief Fund to support long-term recovery from the Hill and Woolsey wildfires for low-income individuals and families throughout Southern California. Relief funds will assist those in re-establishing their lives, and the fund will be updated as needed to include individuals and families in other affected areas. This new United Way of Greater Los Angeles fund is in partnership with United Way of Ventura County and United Ways of California. The fund is live on the United Way of Greater Los Angeles website and can be found here: https://bit.ly/2DwhVKU
"For low-income individuals and families, a wildfire can mean the difference between staying housed and becoming homeless. Affected families need support to rebuild their lives, and we are proud to help give them a lifeline in this critical time," said Elise Buik, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Ventura County will work collaboratively to identify and vet organizations best positioned to serve those who are most in need and United Way of Greater Los Angeles will distribute the funds.
"United Way of Greater Los Angeles is helping us to reach low-income families and individuals whose lives are changed by these disasters," said Eric Harrison, President and CEO of United Way of Ventura. "The funds will allow us to hit the ground running to help the most vulnerable members of our community in this time."
Disaster relief is a critical component in United Way of Greater Los Angeles' fight to end poverty. Last year, United Way of Greater Los Angeles worked with United Ways across Southern California to provide relief for California's most destructive fire season through the Southern California Wildfire Mudslide Relief fund, which raised more than $800,000. This new fund will continue United Way's work in serving vulnerable members of our community through one of their most devastating life events.
United Way of Greater Los Angeles is continuing to monitor the other fires in Southern California and will add them to their Disaster Relief Fund when need dictates. Updates will be posted at https://www.unitedwayla.org/en/give/disaster-relief-fund/.
In addition, immediate donations can be made directly to those impacted in Ventura County* by texting UWVC to 41444. Please check text link for processing details.
Learn More
VQG members are organizing now with other quilt guilds and service organizations to determine how to be helpful to the victims of local wildfires and floods. Join us for a regular meeting to get information on our efforts.