Over the years, NeedleChasers have generously contributed their time and quilting talents to the local community.  They have donated hundreds of quilts to organizations, shelters, and hospitals; taught quilting and sewing to neighborhood and school groups; volunteered at needlework and quilt shows; given presentations; and created countless quilts and other items to be sold, auctioned, or raffled to raise money for non-profit organizations.

A few of the NeedleChasers' service projects are described below.  If you'd like to offer your help or know of other community organizations that could use our assistance, please contact us.

WEE BEES

Each month the Wee Bees meet to tie and bind quilts that are donated to a variety of local organizations that service children in need, including a pre-school program at the House of Ruth, the HSC Pediatric Center, and Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care.  The Wee Bees meet on the first Wednesday of each month at Ann Shirley's home in Silver Spring, Maryland. For more information, see the home page.  

All NeedleChasers are encouraged to participate.  There's no need to let anyone know if you plan to attend.  Just come and join in the fun of creating colorful quilts for kids.  We welcome donations of fabric, batting, and other materials that could be used in the construction of quilts for young children.

 

OTHER SERVICE PROJECTS

The NeedleChasers work on other community projects as well.  For example:

 

Many of our members support Quilting for Good, a monthly quilt-a-thon sponsored by G Street Fabrics in Rockville.  Volunteers with basic sewing skills gather and assemble quilts and blankets for Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care, a local clinic that provides health care, education, and social services to Washington area immigrant communities.  For more information, contact Prue Hoppin at (202) 986-6251.  

At right is a photo from a recent Mary's Center newsletter showing Prue and colleague Ginny Spevak delivering quilts to the Center.

 

February 2009

 

On February 5th, members of the NeedleChasers' Guild dropped off a pile of preemie blankets (50!) and an incubator cover at Children's National Medical Center (the main building in downtown D.C.). The staff at Children's Volunteer Services office were delighted to receive them!

 

Click Here to see a Thank You Letter from Children's National Medical Center.

There are plans to make up some additional blanket kits to distribute at meetings. (These are fast, easy service projects for members who are long on giving, but short on time.) Children's said they would let us know about their needs for more covers and other quilted/sewn items, as well as information on how many blankets they could use. If you would like to make some Preemie Blankets, click here to download instructions.

 

 

In addition, in recent years, NeedleChasers have:

  • designed and created sixteen lap quilts for Alzheimers patients at the IONA Senior Center.  For photos of some of these quilts, click here.