There are several organizations working to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. We want you to know about some of them.
www.Quilts.inc - This is based in Houston and runs the International Quilt Festivals and Markets. They are coordinating quilts and bedding for the Texas area and beyond where over 250,000 evacuees are. You can send quilts and bedding there and they will distribute it.
www.americanquilter.com - This is the American Quilt Society out of Paducah, Kentucky. They have warehouses available for storage of quilts and bedding and will service the Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana areas at the very least.
Red Cross - Call your local office. They have limited storage areas so won't take as much. They prefer money at this time to help pay for actual needs of the victims. Please consider volunteering in the next several months doing office work, counseling or whatever is needed. Helping sustain this effort is the real challenge.
Northern New Mexico Quilt Guild - Call Deb Martinez and see what they are doing next. They have delivered 35 quilts to the Albuquerque Convention Center so check what is needed next Deb: 471-1077
Santa Fe Quilting - We will continue our pillow project. If you can help make pillow cases for the survivors which they can also use to carry things that's great. If you want to add draw strings to the pillow then it becomes a tote so do whatever you can. We will schedule several quilting events to make quilt tops to be sent out later. These quilts will be used as the Guild determines since we still have people in need in Santa Fe for things.
We recommend that your work through these groups rather than mail quilts based on a television report about someone in need. These groups are coordinating efforts to make sure everyone gets something. Thanks for helping in whatever way you choose. Remember there are food bank efforts as well so call the local food bank if you want to help there.
Thanks for all your help.
