Last week, Friends and Family Veterans Support was at the Veterans Home in Mexico. The organization had a busy week giving away 13 quilts in two days to some very deserving veterans. 

Friends and Family Veterans Support is a relatively new organization coming together just three years ago. They have approximately 15 members including three quilters: treasurer Donna Hoffman, recording secretary Joyce Lowry and Diana Koshinski.

“We do fundraisers such as mum sales, garage sales, quilt raffles and every dime we make goes to local veterans,” says president Donna Yaeger. 

Quilts of Valor Foundation was established in 2003 by Catherine Roberts whose son had been deployed in Iraq. She watched her son struggle after coming home from the war and through her love for quilting, found a way to help comfort and heal him. 

“A Quilt of Valor is a homemade quality quilt that is awarded to a service member who has been touched by war,” says Lowry. “The quilt says, ‘thank you for your service and your sacrifice’.”

Affiliated volunteer teams like Friend and Family Veterans Support sew quilts to gift to veterans who have been touched by war. Lowry and Hoffman have belonged to the Quilts of Valor for about nine years.

Thursday’s Quilts of Valor recipients were Ray Houston, Albert Flores, Robert Rudolph, and William C. Hogue adding to the grand total of 397,897 quilts that have been given nationwide. Friends and Family Veterans Support has made almost 100 quilts this year.

“We also give away ‘quilt of honor’ quilts which is a service member that has given us the service time but not necessarily in war,” says Lowry. “There are lots of others that are very deserving.”

The quilts of honor recipients were Russell Earl Kaiser III, Connie Field, and Marvin Hickman. 

In attendance for the ceremony were fellow veterans and the recipients’ friends and family. Each quilt given is completely unique; no two designs are the same but generally they utilize patriotic themes and the Quilts of Valor have an official patch with the veteran’s name. They are presented with a certificate and a healing hug.

“As of Oct. 10th, just a couple days ago, the army in Washington D.C. decided to give the Quilt of Valor the National Distinguished Service Award, and we are very proud of that,” says Lowry.

The Friends and Family of Veterans group is more than just quilts and volunteers their time every week at the Veterans home. Most of their members have family members who are veterans. They meet once a month on the third Tuesday in the basement of the Friendship Fellowship Baptist Church. 

Earlier this month, Brian Pursiful, president of the Veterans Home Assistance League, had the opportunity to give one of his own family members a quilt. On Oct. 5, Brian Pursiful honored his uncle, Raymond Pursiful with a Quilt of Valor in his home surrounded by family and friends.