The Quilts of Valor Foundation and The National Quilt Museum Partner to Help Both Organizations Expand Programming and Better Serve The Quilting Community
The two service organizations play critical roles in expanding the reach of quilting
Paducah, KY, August 21, 2019 - The Quilts of Valor Foundation and The National Quilt Museum are two of the most widely recognizable and respected service organizations in quilting. The National Quilt Museum promotes the growth and expansion of quilting by bringing the work of today’s quilters to new audiences through exhibits, education programs, preservation, and advocacy efforts. The Quilts of Valor Foundation works to cover all service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts.
Both organizations are 501c3 nonprofits primarily funded through the generosity of people and organizations passionate about quilting.
Through this partnership, the two organizations will jointly work to help each other reach larger audiences. The partnership was kicked off at the annual Quilts of Valor Conference in Grand Rapids on August 20, 2019 during a speech by National Quilt Museum CEO Frank Bennett. “Our two organizations serve the quilting community and are reliant on the quilting community for support. For us both to achieve our global missions, we need everyone passionate about quilting involved with our respective organizations. Through this partnership, both organizations will be able to bring our message to wider audiences,” stated Bennett.
Along with other combined communication initiatives, the two organizations are going to make it possible to become a member of both organizations online from either website. If you sign up to become a member on either the Quilts of Valor website (www.QOVF.org) or The National Quilt Museum website (www.QuiltMuseum.org), you will be given the option to become a member of both organizations with just one click. “We think everyone that cares about the future of quilting should support both of our organizations, so we are making it possible to get both memberships on either of our websites,” explained Quilts of Valor Executive Director, Tammany McDaniel.
In addition to the combined effort to increase memberships, the two organizations will regularly use each other’s communication platforms to share news about projects and events. Both organizations annually reach audiences in the hundreds of thousands with their newsletters, email, blogs, social media, and videos.
About The National Quilt Museum
Now its 27th year, the National Quilt Museum promotes the growth and expansion of quilting by bringing the work of today’s quilters to new audiences through exhibits, education programs, preservation, and advocacy efforts. Their primary campus in Paducah, KY sees visitors annually from all 50 states and over 40 foreign countries. Between in-facility and traveling exhibits, more than 150,000 people per year experience the art form in person through museum efforts.
The museum is committed to teaching the next generation of quilters, and its education programs annually attract more than 4,000 young people and adults. Educational opportunities include the School Block Challenge, Quilt Camp, and the museum’s acclaimed hands-on program, The Creative Stitch, in which people of all ages with no previous experience learn to make a quilt block.
The National Quilt Museum has won the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for seven consecutive years, making it one of the top tourist attractions by visitor review in the world. The museum made Southern Living’s “Top 15 Museums in the South” list in 2017 and it has been mentioned in Midwest Living, CNN Travel, USA Today, National Geographic, and many more. Paducah, Kentucky is a UNESCO Creative City. For more information go to www.QuiltMuseum.org.
About The Quilts of Valor Foundation
The Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 with a dream, literally a dream. Founder Catherine Roberts’ son Nat was deployed in Iraq. According to Catherine:
The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter. Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and well-being. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my dream was:
Quilts = Healing
The model appeared simple: have a volunteer team who would donate their time and materials to make a quilt. One person would piece the top and the other would quilt it. I saw the name for this special quilt. It was a Quilt of Valor, a QOV.
Our volunteers have now awarded 225,533 Quilts of Valor. Our actions resonate across age groups and we often see husband/wife teams of topper and long-armer working on these visual representations of service, patriotism and gratitude. We are reaching youth and the new quilter through our Under Our Wings® Program. Youth from 4-H, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts complete a QOV and award it to service member or veteran. We are reaching out to hold instructional classes in retirement communities, engaging veterans in using an art form both for expression and healing, and bringing back sew days throughout the country. Each year on National Sew Day, we encourage quilters to make at least one block which can be used locally or sent to a group in need of fabric for piecing tops. Our National Block Drive garnered over 12,000 blocks in a 9-month period, all of which are being pieced and quilted for award in 2019. For more information go to www.QOVF.org.
