Wheatland Quilters give back

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

Wheatland Quilters have opened their hearts by creating homemade quilts for the Bags of Love program.
Bags of Love is a project that supplies the immediate necessities to displaced children, specifically children removed from the home due to domestic abuse.
“It’s a very emotional, traumatic experience for them,” said Venita Elkow, Bags of Love representative. “This just lets them know that someone cares, and it eases the whole experience.”
The Bags of Love program originated in the United States and has since made its way to Calgary, but this is its first foray into the Wheatland County area.
The program was designed to help kids transition when they have been removed from a dangerous situation at home. Each child is given a bag when they are moved into foster care. The bags contain many things from the very simple yet necessary toothbrush to an emotional support tool such as a teddy bear. Each bag contains two toys that cater to various ages and genders.
“We all need to know that someone cares what happens to us and that they don’t feel alone and forgotten,” said Elkow. “This just helps with emotional and mental health.”
Originally, Wheatland Quilters was going to donate 40 to 50 quilts to the program. However, the group exceeded their expectations significantly, creating a total of 83 quilts of varying sizes. Some were full-sized adult quilts and others were small enough for a baby.
The group began producing the quilts in February 2017 – all the fabric was donated or purchased by individual members.
“They needed quilts, so we had her (Venita) come do a talk and decided to make some quilts for the children,” said Wendy Nielsen, Wheatland Quilters vice-president.
According to Elkow, she was contacted by Nielsen at the perfect time because one of their previous sponsors had to drop out, which cut their funding by half. “I’m blown away by the generosity of this group. To know that someone else cares … in this very small way I know what it must mean for the children.”
Bags of Love operates out of Calgary Central Seventh Day Adventist Church. To donate or for more information, contact 403-289-0196.