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“The article you did on us in February 2019, made a HUGE impact on our organization — in acquiring funds, but also in adding more wonderful sewers to our group!” says founder Debbie Goldshot. “I started this group because of my love for quilting and a God-infused desire to help and comfort others. We have grown tremendously in the past year, not only adding additional quilters, but also adding organizations that receive our quilts for distribution.”
The group meets twice a month in Goldshot’s Beavercreek home. In addition, participants take kits home that are provided by the organization and return the completed quilt tops on the next quilting day. “We make quilts using our own designs and traditional patterns,” she explains.
The group makes quilts from baby size to twins and sometimes larger depending on the need. Among the organizations they serve are the Center for Adolescent Services in Dayton; Beavercreek and Xenia police departments; Oasis House and Safe Harbor (the organization that assists women trying to escape sexual slavery and trafficking); Be Hope Church in Beavercreek; Bridges of Hope Homeless Shelter, Xenia; and Life Inn His Image, for young pregnant women seeking help in Dayton.
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The organization also provides grief services to widows by making them quilts from their deceased husband’s clothing. “The reaction we get is beyond words,” says Goldshot. “We put pockets on these quilts that can be used for Kleenex and the women often use them for comforters.”
Terrie Corley of Beavercreek says she’d been actively searching for such a group when she discovered an article about Gold Heart Quilters in the Dayton Daily News last year. “It brings so much joy to my heart to be able to combine my passion for quilting and comforting those in need with my creations,” she says. “It means the world to me to have met and become friends with so many wonderful people by being a member of this great charity.”
As a new quilter, Wanda Deitner of Kettering says others in the group with more experience have been helpful in getting her started.
A representative from the Bridges of Hope Homeless Shelter called their gift of 50 quilts “amazing!” “They brought over 50 handmade quilts measured to perfectly fit our beds! We are SO excited and grateful for this thoughtful and beautiful gift. So many hours of love went into this gift and we are grateful. We can’t wait to see the looks on our guests’ faces when they see their new bed blankets!”
Heather Moser, family specialist supervisor for the Center for Adolescent Services, noted it was hard to express appreciation as well to those who are “so giving and loving to those who really don’t know what being loved feels like.”
What they need:
• Yardages of cotton fabric
• Spools of new cotton thread
• Sewing machine needles (size 80/12)
• Rotary cutters and replacement blades
• Self healing cutting mats
• Gift cards to Joanne Fabrics or Fabric Shack (in Waynesville) or a quilt shop of your choice
Other ways to help
You can send check and/or gift cards to: Gold Heart Quilters, 2075 Amy's Ridge East, Beavercreek, OH 45434. You can also work through The Dayton Foundation, 500 Kettering Tower, Dayton OH 45423. (Checks should be made payable to Dayton Foundation with Gold Heart Quilters #8467 included on check)
For more information, check out goldheartquilters.com and the group's Facebook page, Gold Heart Quilters.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Each week Meredith Moss profiles a nonprofit organization in our area in need of supplies. If your group has a wish list to share with our readers contact Meredith: MMoss@coxohio.com
Please include a daytime phone number and a photo that reflects your group’s mission.
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