When a new family moves into Halo House, they are gifted with a stunning, high quality, handmade quilt from The Quilt Guild of Greater Houston (QGGH), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the art of quilting. QGGH is a group of quilters and quilt lovers who meet to share the love of this art form. You don’t need to be a quilter to join the guild; anyone with a love of quilts is welcome. Founded in 1976 with an initial membership of just 25, the Guild has grown over the years and has had membership numbers as high as 470 people.
In 2014, two QGGH members, Betty Rivers and Marilyn Kowalski recommended that Halo House be a recipient of the quilts. Since then, Halo House has received over 400 quilts to pass onto guests growing from 25 quilts in 2014 to 102 quilts so far in 2020. For the past 6 years, Janet Becker, chairperson of the guild’s charity group known as the Comforters, has worked with Halo House to make sure there are always enough quilts to give out. The group’s unofficial motto is “He who Sleeps under a Quilt is Comforted by Love” and since 2013, the group has made over 500 quilts each year hitting an all-time high of 664 quilts in 2015. When Halo House gets low on quilts, Janet always rushes to the rescue with more!
Comforters believe that these quality quilts bring beauty, love, and compassion to those who are going through hard times, whether it be the result of illness, disease, poverty, or anything beyond their control. “I always smile when we have Show & Tell at our meetings and a member shows a Comforter quilt that she has made and someone else says, ‘That’s wonderful. That’s going to charity?’. Yes, it is wonderful, and YES, it is going to charity!”, says Janet. The members who make the quilts really put their hearts into producing these beautiful blankets and they attach a label to each quilt that says, “From our hearts to yours”. Families moving into Halo House are often overwhelmed, frightened, and exhausted, but receiving one of these beautiful quilts always puts a smile on their face.
Janet makes kits for members to check out at the meetings and several different members may be involved with each quilt. The Comforters have an annual budget of $600 and because most of the fabric they use is donated, the majority of their budget is spent on batting and labels. Typically, there are 2 charity quilt workdays each year but because of COVID 19 there has only been one charity workday this year. Even during the pandemic however, Janet still has members working on quilts and she provides a contactless exchange on her front porch. Members can drop off their projects and pick up new kits to begin working on additional quilts to give out. So far in 2020, the Comforters have made 260 quilts despite not holding a meeting since February.
Halo House is so thankful for the continued support from Janet and the Quilt Guild of Greater Houston over the past 6 years. The donations from Comforters have provided warmth and comfort to so many of our residents in their journeys.
Check out their website! https://qgghouston.org/
Comments are closed.