Quilts for Kids Wraps Pediatric Patients in Comfort at North Oaks Medical Center

To help make the hospital stay less frightening for children, the Quilts for Kids organization recently delighted North Oaks Medical Center Pediatrics Unit patients and their parents with a donation of 20 handmade quilts. The quilts were made by the students of Quilts for Kids’ Representative and Home Economics teacher Donna Rhodes at Bonifay Middle School in Bonifay, Florida.

The quilts are made in the name of Quilts for Kids, a non-profit organization of volunteer quilters who transform fabrics into quilts to comfort children in need. Rhodes’ sixth, seventh and eighth grade students sewed the quilts as part of a community service project. Each quilt is made with fabric chosen by the student and packaged with a handwritten note and picture from the student to the recipient.

“Sewing the quilts gives my students a sense of accomplishment and a passion for helping others,” affirms Rhodes.

Quilts for Kids was founded in August 2000 by Linda Arye, whose daughter was hospitalized and unable to have her favorite stuffed animal to hold on to because of allergens. The experience inspired Arye to use discontinued designer fabrics to make washable patchwork quilts for children in need. Quilts for Kids now has more than 100 chapters and distributes quilts to children’s hospitals and shelters across North America. For more information about Quilts for Kids, visit www.quiltsforkids.org.