Hope Lutheran Church of Powell donated more than 100 hand-made quilts for World Relief. Church members loaded 128 beautiful quilts made by the congregation’s “Peace Corps,” along with 150 personal care kits and 110 school kits into Howard and Ann Sanders pickup and trailer.

On Friday, May 13, the quilts and kits were taken to Billings, where they were loaded on trucks headed for Lutheran World Relief.

Lutheran World Relief distributes these quilts and kits across the globe to help those in need because of natural disasters and refugee displacement. Some quilts are expected to be delivered to Ukraine.

Church members ordered supplies and assembled the quilts and kits with monetary help from Thrivent Insurance company’s “Action Team Grants.”

Community members helped find filling for the quilts by providing blankets and other suitable materials for the quilts when the batting supplies were on back order. Materials for the quilts are usually purchased but there are many donations from church and community members. Yard sales are often a good source of sheets and fabrics needed to build beautiful quilts. Judy Vogt gathers all the materials from Powell and often involves her daughter, Sharon, (who brings additional items from Helena for quilters to use). They choose the combinations of fabric to produce the beautiful, brightly colored quilts.

Several church members gather together every Tuesday morning to make about six quilts.  

Tuesday mornings finds Judy Vogt, Judi Blymyer, Ann Sanders, Julie Fulton, Norene Streicher, Julie Becker, Donna Brandon and Carolyn Danko gathered around two quilting tables tying the fabrics together and  sewing on the bindings. Judy Vogt organizes all the supplies. 

Many other congregation members helped to put the personal-care kits and the school kits together, and prepare them for distribution.