Handmade Hugs

There is a project out there I found through Soldiers' Angels called Quilters Comfort America. Here's the basic idea (from the site):

Like so many other people, we want to help. Knowing
quilters, we think you want to help, too, because there are no
more generous, giving, open-hearted people than quilters.

Therefore, we are launching a two-part drive for Hurricane Katrina
relief, and we urge you to join us in this project. We're calling
it QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA.

PART 1: Urgent Donations to the American Red Cross Disaster
Relief Fund.
We will match EVERY donation made by quilters to the American Red
Cross, up to a maximum of $10,000, on a dollar for dollar basis.
...
Part 2 of QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA is the collection of quilts of
all kinds to be distributed to the refugees here in Houston so
that they have something soft to sleep on instead of the hard
concrete floors of the temporary shelters and something warm to
cover up with against the chill of otherwise welcome
air-conditioning (we've been in the 90s and 100s for weeks now).
...
To participate in QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA, send an email to
exec5@quilts.com (subject line: COMFORT AMERICA) to let us know
how many quilts you are sending. That will help us help the Red
Cross in its planning. Please do not expect a confirmation that
your quilt has been received or any kind of nice thank-you.
Sometimes we just have to do things because they are the RIGHT
things to do--this is one of those times. People need help...the
kind of help WE can give.

Use this address to send your quilt/s:
COMFORT AMERICA PROJECT
c/o International Festival
7660 Woodway, Suite 550
Houston, TX 77063
Please note: for security, do NOT use the word 'quilt' ANYWHERE
in your address label!
...
Time is critical--the need is NOW! People are arriving by the
hour, children are bedding down on the cold concrete, bedding is
needed by people of all ages who have lost everything in this
horrible storm. Please help if you can. If you live in or around
Houston, you are welcome to hand deliver your donations to us.
Our address is 7660 Woodway, Suite 550, Houston 77063. You can
find it on Mapquest. Please note that this is one block of Woodway
that runs perpendicular to all the rest of Woodway.

Thanks to everyone!

QUILTERS COMFORT AMERICA
Karey Patterson Bresenhan
Director, International Quilt Festival--Houston and Chicago

I love this idea, but I'd also like to take it a step further. There is a lot of talent out there in the blogosphere, and I'd like to challenge you all to channel whatever talents you have toward our countries displaces hurricane survivors.

Think about it:

- Photographers send a special photo to brighten a survivor's new space.

- Doilies are crocheted to replace someone's special heirloom from Grandma, which was lost forever.

- Samplers are cross-stitched with love into a special prayer pillow a child holds at night.

- Paintings decorate new, barren walls with scenes of peace and love.

- A handmade and specially-written story replaces a child's favorite storybook.

- A ceramic vase fills an empty space on a new and unfamiliar kitchen counter.

- A handmade teddy or other stuffed animal holds a traumatized child's tears and comforts him when he's missing everything familiar to him.

- A specially handcrafted piece of jewelry is worn by a woman to remind her that she's still loved, though everything she knows has been stripped from her.

- A homemade photo album contains the few, tattered pictures saved from the rubble of a family's former home - and maybe a few new ones of their heroes.

I challenge you to help restore some love and sanity into the lives of some people who really need to know they are thought of as human; I challenge you to offer hope.