TIFTON – The Wiregrass Quilters Guild will present handmade quilts to local service members and veterans on November 4 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Chapel of All Faiths at 1 pm.
“This is a partner event for the Georgia Museum of Agriculture Gallery, the Wiregrass Quilters Guild, and the Quilts of Valor Foundation,” said GMA Curator Polly Huff. “The Wiregrass Quilters Guild is our local member organization of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Over the last 12 years, the Quilts of Valor event has been a part of the annual American Legacy Quilt Show. However, with attendance steadily growing, this is the first year the Guild is presenting it as a separate event.”
Local Wiregrass Quilters Guild members are individually matched in advance with recipients, for whom they create a unique, handcrafted quilt. The quilts will be presented to those recipients and their families at the Nov. 4 ceremony.
The mission of the Foundation is to “cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor,” according to the Foundation’s website. The Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003, and has awarded 359,727 quilts, which each are made by volunteers and must be either made by hand or machine-quilted. Quilts are awarded to nominated current service members or living veterans who serve or have served in the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or the activated National Guard during declared war, conflicts, police actions, peacekeeping missions, counter terrorism operations, and/or times of peace.
Huff said the GMA and the Wiregrass Quilters Guild are currently planning a spring Quilts of Valor event for March 9, 2024.
