Category: Giving Back

General Meeting · Giving Back

January 2024 Meeting

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Lesley Hansard from the New American Association in Massachusetts (NAAM) explained the work of the organization. Her focus in on recent Afghani women. Hansard’s work involves helping the women with microbusiness startup skills. She helps them recognize their own creative potential and encourages them to develop marketable products that promote financial independence. A case manager told about her work with interpretation and helping the women with navigating the world outside their housing. Two of the Afghani women demonstrated their embroidery skills. Guild members were able to view samples of their work and ask questions about the program.

A special thank you goes to Guild members who donated crafting materials to NAAM. Hansard went home with two sewing machines, and a car full of supplies.

The meeting ended with a short show and tell. Here are the three quilts shown.

Giving Back

Busy Elves

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The Hammersmith Quilters Guild Elves were busy on the Friday after Thanksgiving stuffing pillowcases for our annual charity giveaway. The elves stuffed 100 pillow cases with quilts, toiletries, and games. There were 72 quilts donated to the cause.

Giving Back

August 2023 Sit N Sew

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Guild members ironed, cut, and kitted around 50 Quilt of Valor block kits at the August 2023 Sit N Sew. The blocks will be given to volunteer members to sew up the kits which will then be donated to the Quilt of Valor Foundation to make into quilts for veterans.

Several members brought projects to work on from sandwiching a quilt, to hand sewing, binding, and just socializing.

Giving Back

Veteran’s Early Learning Center Thank you

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Children presenting the Thank You
Children reading the presentation
Children holding the quilt
Margie and Nancy
Margie and Senior Center Director
The Thank you

Guild members Margie Berkowitch and Nancy Sandreuter represented us at the Veterans Early Learning School on Mar 2, 2023.  The children presented the Hammersmith Quilters Guild and the Saugus Senior Center with a collage of hearts thanking them for the quilt that the Guild made for the school.  The quilt was a fabric art piece that replicated the paper hearts that the school made for the Senior Center in 2022.  Margie saw the paper hearts as an act of kindness.  She saw the hearts as a quilt as well.  The quilt will be displayed at the school.  The heart collage is being displayed at the Senior Center. 

The children were all smiles during the presentation.  Because we do not have permission from the parents to post pictures of the children on our website, their faces are pixelated. 

Giving Back · Uncategorized

January 2023 Meeting Information

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On January 5, 2023, Ann Lauer spoke to our guild about Ride 4 a Woman, a charity she supports.  She came across this organization on a gorilla safari in Uganda in 2001.  When she saw the condition of the tools used by the quilters, she knew she could do something about it.  The picture on the left above shows the condition of the cutting mats the women were using.  The picture on the right shows the cutting mats she was able to provide to the charity. 

Ms. Lauer showed a film done about their work.  The URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xURsGyHL320.  To learn more, go to her web site at https://grizzlygulchgallery.com/. Click on the African Quilters tab. There is also a gofundme link on that site where Ms. Lauer collects donations to support them.  All proceeds go to the charity with Ms. Lauer absorbing all the administrative costs.  She donated her speaker’s fee to the charity and Nancy Sandreuter’s company matched the fee to double the impact.