Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Sending quilts to ALS patients around the country.


One of the many rewarding parts of the Hopes & Dreams Challenge is sending quilts so generously donated to ALS Association chapters across the country. From there, those chapters will hand deliver the quilts to ALS patients (PALS).  Yesterday, we shipped 617 quilts totaling 67 boxes!! There are still a few more ALS chapters we are waiting to hear back from so that technically isn't the grand total. But who is really counting, right? The fact that one single quilt can bring joy and comfort to someone battling such a terrible disease is more than just numbers. 


Prior to shipping, one of our #battgirls here in the office, Neva, spent the day touching base with the ALS Association chapters to get an idea of how many quilts they needed. The response was great. Take a look at the warehouse with boxes of quilts piled up before and after!  Although we sent out 617 quilts, we could have used at least 500 more to cover all the requests we had from the ALS Association chapters! 






Ivanka and Kathy double checking each box before giving the "go" to ship.
Almost finished! Just keep sorting. Just keep sorting. 




Included in the boxes, was a letter from Kathy Thompson to each ALS chapter: 



On behalf of Quilters Dream Batting and the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS, we are pleased to send you these quilts to share with your PALS. Each quilt was handcrafted with love from quilters across the country who have given their time and talents to bring warmth to the laps and lives of individuals diagnosed with ALS.

As the co-founder and owner of Quilters Dream Batting, a Virginia Beach based business that manufactures high quality quilt batting, I knew just how generous and caring the quilt community would be. What I didn't know was how willing these quilters were to embrace the challenge and not only touch my life, but those living with ALS, including my son.

The Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS was created in 2009, when I decided to raise awareness and research funds to help find a cure for ALS. In 2007, my now 40 year old son Josh, was diagnosed with ALS. The disease has taken Josh from a strong, happy, athletic young husband and father to being completely paralyzed. He is currently on life support.

This annual challenge has been an incredible success over the years and has received thousands of quilts! More than 4000 quilts have been given to PALS through ALS chapters across the U.S. More than $80,000 has been raised through the sale of select quilts donated to the challenge and 100% of the proceeds have been given in the form of grants to support ALS research.

We appreciate your chapter distributing these quilts to your PALS. Many quilters have attached stories with their quilts- others did not. We encourage you or your PALS to contact the quilter as most are anxious to learn who received their quilt.

We are hopeful that the gift of these quilts will let PALS know that there are many people who care and they are surrounded by love and concern.

Thank you for all that you do.

 Sincerely,
 Kathy Thompson (mother of Josh Thompson)



With the holidays just around the corner, consider the gift of a quilt to a family member or friend and help find a cure for ALS. 

Select donated quilts can be purchased by visiting our Storenvy shop and stopping into Richard Stravitz's art gallery located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Because Quilters Dream Batting takes care of all Hopes & Dreams expenses, 100% of the money received from quilt sales will go towards ALS research.

Are you a quilter and wish to donate a quilt? Head over to the Hopes & Dreams website for more information. There are plenty of categories you can enter and chances to win fabulous prizes from our generous sponsors. Click HERE to see what 2015 prizes have already been sent in!


A big thanks to the staff at Quilters Dream Batting, who worked hard moving and shipping all those boxes yesterday! It was an exhausting effort, but filled with great joy and excitement for those patients who will receive a quilt.

We'd also like to say thank you to EVERYONE who participated in the 2013-2014 challenge! Without your quilt donations and our generous sponsors, we wouldn't have had such a rewarding day! 








Tuesday, August 19, 2014

End of year 2014 Challenge update




First and foremost, we would like to thank EVERYONE who participated in the 2014 Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS! We are currently still in the process of wrapping up the 2014 challenge.

We received SO many quilts this year and hope you will be patience with us as we continue to log them in. Once that's complete, we will be able to post our "Sew Popular" contest on our Facebook page for you all to vote! We will also be announcing the category winners shortly after that. 

August 1st marked the 2015 challenge year and we have already been getting in tons of new quilts and prize donations from many new sponsors! We sincerely appreciate your time and efforts and hope you will continue to join us in raising awareness and much needed funds to help find a cure for this disease. Stay tuned...



Friday, August 15, 2014

Ice Bucket Challenge



Why is everyone dumping buckets of ice water over their heads you ask?

If you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, lets catch you up to speed on the latest viral sensation that's getting out of hand...in the very BEST way!

It all began when Massachusetts resident Pete Frates, 29,  who's been living with ALS since 2012 and his family  came up with the idea. The challenge involves people getting doused with buckets of ice water on video, posting that video to social media, then nominating others to do the same, all in an effort to raise ALS awareness. Those who refuse to take the challenge are asked to make a donation of at least $100 to the ALS charity of their choice.

People all over, even celebrities such as the Kennedy's, Justin Timberlake, and NFL football teams have accepted the #icebucketchallenge. And since we are determined to find a cure and raise awareness for this awful disease, of course we took the challenge as well!

Those brave enough to get drenched on this sunny warm Friday (thank goodness, could you imagine this during the winter?) came prepared with bags of towels and extra clothes to change into afterwards. I even think I saw a hairdryer in the bathroom haha.


Buckets of all sizes, NONE too small were filled with ice and water to the rim! They were placed under the trees out front of Quilters Dream Batting Headquarters as 7 thrill seekers waited for a chill. Kathy Thompson, owner of QDB, decided it would be fun to "nominate/challenge" other batting companies. You will have to watch the video to see who she will choose.





Soooooo COLD!!!!!!!!!!!

Sharon

Jane

Jason

Kathy K.

Gina

Neva

How could we leave out the boss?? Kathy Thompson


We couldn't be happier to be soaking wet amongst many others in the hopes to find a cure and raise awareness for ALS! 

We hope to come across your video in the social media world.