Welcome to our Community Involvement Page
Be involved
The MVQG is operated entirely by volunteers. The Guild sponsors and participates in many projects that benefit the Quad City community. Members generously donate their time, talent and materials for the following groups. Scroll down to read details of each group.
The MVQG current membership numbers approximately 300 women and men. In fiscal year 2017-18 our members volunteered approximately 4600 hours of their time to the guild and it’s programs, not including more than 4000 hours to organize and present the 2018 Great River Quilt Show. Wow!
Scroll down to read details about our involvement in the community and click the file below for a printable one page reference guide for Community Involvement (Projects).
Community Involvement - Group Details
charity quilts
The Charity Quilts group meets monthly to cut, sew, bind and tie lap quilts, baby quilts, and bed quilts for local organizations. Many of Guild members work for this group at home, preparing tops, sewing on binding, and tying or quilting the quilt. During 2018 over 200 quilts were donated! Below are some examples of organizations who have received quilts over the years.
Pregnancy Resources
Birthright
Women’s Choice
World Relief
Winnie’s Place
Human Resources
St. Anthony’s Care Center
In Touch Adult Day Care
The 180 Zone (men, women and children recovering from addiction)
Salvation Army Family Services
Various Fire Victims
Various Benefits
Sizes:
Baby Quilt: 39” x 40” Adult Day Care: 40” x 54”
Twin (the most common size given away): 63” x 87”
Double: 80” x 95” Lap quilt: 50″ x 60″.
doll quilts
The Doll Quilt group meets monthly to cut and sew doll quilts. The doll quilts are donated to Head Start classes in December in the Quad Cities (both Illinois and Iowa). Guild members also work for this group at home or in sit and sew groups.
In 2018 the group made and donated approximately 785 doll quilts! This includes Iowa and Illinois Head Start programs, the Blackhawk Special Ed Center, Moline and some other title programs in Iowa.
Sizes:
Doll Quilt: 24” x 24” approximately (square or rectangle)
The Doll Quilt group gladly accepts donations of batting (large scrap ok) and good quality bright kid friendly fabric.
Meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at the Deere Wiman Carriage House. Contact: Margaret Paulos.
habitat for humanity
This group provides 1 or 2 quilts for each Habitat for Humanity house. If you have a quilt for piecing, binding, or quilting, please email me at pilgrimquilt1@q.com or call me at (563) 381-2340 or (563) 370-8636. I am in need of volunteers to bind quilt(s). I also need a couple of volunteers to quilt for us. If you are interested in piecing quilts please let me know. I will supply all the fabric. I will need your time, thread and machine use. Any help is much appreciated. There is no time frame to complete most of this work as I have a couple of quilts completed. Please let me know if you can help in any way. Thank you in advance. Jo Ann Pilgrim
quillow qtees
Members of the Mississippi Valley Quilters Guild have sewn Quillows for patients at Hope Lodge in Iowa City since the fall of 2014. On May 15th, five members of the Guild visited Hope Lodge and finished sewing 18 Quillows which were accepted that day by Lodge Manager Lynn Johnson.
Hope Lodge serves adult cancer patients who are receiving treatment at any of three medical facilities in Iowa City. Patients and caregivers residing outside of a 40 mile radius of Iowa City are provided with a place to stay, kitchen, and laundry facilities free of charge during their treatments. People come from all across the two state area, the United States, and from around the world. In 2018, Hope Lodge in Iowa City ran at 91% capacity, providing 15,379 nights of lodging to 1,224 patients and their caregivers. Most receive a Quillow made by a MVQG member at some point during their stay.
Hope Lodge, however, provides more than the tangibles of a “home away from home”. In the words of Lynnell Havercamp (from Davenport and a friend of the author), who utilized their facility in December of 2018, “My stay at Hope Lodge was a reminder that I was not alone on my journey. I had the support of those I had just met as well as those behind-the-scenes individuals and groups I’d never meet. That gave me strength and courage.”
We make Quillows for unknown individuals. Our visit to Hope Lodge put some names and faces with our work; but more importantly, it validated our gifts of time, talent, and treasure as a “behind-the-scenes” group.
The MVQG annual budget does not financially support our Quillows group. Some proceeds from the Small Quilt auction held in conjunction with our Quilt Show, as well as grants and donations support all of the Quillows work. More volunteers are ALWAYS welcome to attend our monthly sewing meetings.
quilts of valor
The Quilts of Valor project is sponsored by The Quilts of Valor Foundation. The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.
This quilting group meets monthly to create quilts for veterans in the Quad City Area. Many of our members participate in this project at the
QofV monthly meeting, as well as sewing or quilting at home. Members with long-arm machines donate the quilting. Non-members of the MVQG are invited to attend and participate in this project.
In 2018, the Quilts of Valor group gave out 240 quilts with 2998 volunteer hours donated! In total so far our QOV has given out 1054 quilts. And there were more than 230 names on the 2019 list!
Sizes:
Pillowcases: Standard size
Quilts of Valor (please see http://www.qovf.org for further instructions)
60” x 72” (minimum 55” x 65”, and maximum 72” x 90”)
Quilts of Valor meets on the first Wednesday following the regular Guild Meeting at the First Baptist Church of Moline, 1901 29th St, Moline, IL 61265. Contact Terry Austin for more information.
quilt show small item auction
It has become a tradition at the MVQG's Great River Quilt Show to have a live auction of quilts. Quilts to be auctioned range in size from bed size to wall sized. There are also table runners and table toppers, as well as quilted purses, Christmas tree skirts, and other small items. All items have been made specifically for the auction and donated by MVQG members.
Proceeds from the 2018 auctions went to:
Winnie’s Place – A Women’s Shelter in Moline, IL- $1500
Quad City Quilts of Valor- $1128
MVQG Quillows– Sewn for patients at The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Iowa City- $400
holiday donations
Each year the MVQG chooses a local group to receive donations from our members. In the past we have supported the Riverbend Food Bank with donations of canned goods and packaged foods, collected winter coats for a clothing drive, and collected toiletries for a women’s shelter.