Quilts of Valor awarded to service members, veterans

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The Quilts of Valor Foundation has been in existence since 2003, with the mission to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts. Mountain Home’s chapter began in 2015, and since that time, 168 Quilts of Valor have been awarded to local service members and veterans.

The Quilts of Valor Foundation was started by Catherine Roberts, whose son was deployed to Iraq. She had a dream of a young man hunched over on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, and she could see his war demons dragging him down an emotional gutter. She then saw the man in another scene, as if she was viewing a movie, and he was wrapped in a quilt. His demeanor changed from despair to hope and well-being. Since then, a total of nearly 232,000 quilt awards have been recorded nationwide, and over 22,000 quilts have been given out so far in 2019.

Local group leader Mary Hazel was a previous guest on the Talk of the Town on KTLO-FM, and she says a misconception of the organization is that it hands out quilts posthumously, but they’re actually for service members and veterans still living.

Listen:


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A Quilt of Valor is considered a lifetime award given to veterans and includes currently-deployed military personnel. They are made by the foundation’s member volunteers.

Completed Quilts of Valor can be awarded locally to recipients known by the quilt maker or in the quilt maker’s community. Individuals and groups can also ask the foundation to select destinations for completed quilts. Hazel says it can be an emotional experience when a quilt is awarded.

Listen:


right-click to download mp3

Hazel says donations are always needed for materials used for making quilts and for other necessities. She adds when the organization holds an award ceremony, there’s more to it than just the quilt.

Listen:


right-click to download mp3

For more information about making a donation, send an email to mtnhomequiltsofvalor@yahoo.com. To request a quilt, go to qovf.org and fill out an online form.

This month, Our Community Cares, sponsored by Integrity First Bank; Danny Porter of Century 21 LeMac Realty; Pizza Hut; Nachtigal and Nachtigal, MD, General and Vascular Surgery; and KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot, highlights the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Learn more at ktlo.com/ourcommunitycares.

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