Quilts For Kids Newsletter

January 2005

2004 was a very good year for our Oregon non-profit organization! We took over 1,000 quilts to CARES Northwest during the year, thanks to our wonderful volunteers. This brings the all-time total to over 4,000 quilts! That's a lot of hurting children who have been comforted by choosing the quilt that they want after their evaluation at CARES. One of my goals when I began taking quilts to CARES NW was to have every child seen there be able to have a quilt. In 2004 that goal was met....two or three times during 2004
the staff at CARES NW was able to share quilts with Emanual Children's Hospital.

Let me remind you of the work done at CARES Northwest...It is a collaborative program of Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital, Oregon Health Sciences University's Doernbecher Children's Hospital and Kaiser Permanente. It provides the highest quality child abuse assessment services for the children of our community, regardless of their family's ability to pay. Over 1,500 children receive a medical evaluation and assesssment each year at CARES Northwest for concerns of sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect and/or exposure to domestic violence. The methods of the staff and physicians there are ones that do everything to lessen the trauma the child may have experienced.

You may know that the only money-raising event for Quilts For Kids is the annual luncheon presented in early December with CARES NW. I use our share of the net proceeds to buy fabric and batting for our volunteers to make quilts for the kids seen at CARES. This luncheon is becoming a premier event in the Portland area that 'kicks off the Christmas season' for many of our attendees. The Luncheon Committee began meeting in January 2004. As we met each month, our event took shape: quilts and hand-made items to present in auction and raffle...presentations and speakers to acquaint our audience with the work done on behalf of children at CARES NW. This was the 3rd year of our association with a fabulous auctioneer, JillMarie Wiles. She is so dedicated to our cause...so excellent at her craft...she has been instrumental in raising this event to the position it holds today! Many thanks, JillMarie!! The 2004 Quilts That Care Luncheon raised over $37,000.00 gross for CARES Northwest and Quilts For Kids! Net proceeds for QFK actually go back to CARES in the form of completed quilts for the children seen there...net proceeds for CARES Northwest go directly to specific needs. Like so many agencies, CARES has to work hard for funding for their services. Things like clothing for the kids...often what they are wearing is needed for evidence..or they are so scantily clothed that they need basic items of clothing...food..kids are hungry when they arrive..and they often spend most of a day at CARES...they need nutritious food...transportation..you can't bring a traumatized child to CARES on the bus!...the list goes on and on.

Thanks for visiting our website.. I will continue to dedicate Quilts For Kids to raising awareness about child abuse.

Kathy Wheatley

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View quilts from the December 2005 auction.