Our Family of Supporters, Thank You!

Without our supporters, Freedom Quilts would not be able to survive. They are the backbone of the project. They are people who reach out and help whenever we need it. This project is kept alive by Our Family of Supporters -- our dedicated volunteers and our generous donors.

Individual donations have made it possible for us to continue making quilts for families who have lost a love one. These generous supporters are the people behind the scenes, but this year we want all to know that they are making a difference. They have stood up to say yes, I want to help.

Members in our Family of Support, Thank You
Hope Veverka*
Belva Henrickson
Amy Bouska
Bowman & Depree, LLC
Teresa Horrocks
Elaine Harden
Farmers State Bank ,Marcus
Phyllis Helsing
Norene Schechinger
Anna Marie Olson
Karen K. Hyde
Shirley Ann Hogrefe
Susan Thayer
Brad Strader
Lois Powers
Marilyn Rehnstrom
Ms Marian Ballard
Lorraine Roarda
Taylor Contracting Co, Inc
Georgia Flanigan
Jean Spencer
Mildred Meyer
Violet Berkland
Judy Kollasch
Donna Stall
Citizen State Bank
Lake City Veterinary Service
Margaret Feld
Marilyn Nielsen
Don Siepker
Liz Wright
Dyan Zinzi

*We wish to extend a special tribute to Hope Veverka in honor and memory of her beloved son Army Pfc. Brandon R. Sapp who died in Iraq on August 14, 2004. May his memory live strong.

We will post as often as possible to honor and celebrate our Family of Supporters.
Thank you for all of your help.

Freedom Quilts Fundraiser

Thank you so much for believing in this project and for being one of our supporters. Without people like yourself who are kind and caring we would not be able to do all that we have done and hope to continue to do. You make it possible for us to continue and that means so much to the families that receive a quilt from us. They they know it comes from so many loving and caring people and you are one of them.

This year we decided use our Freedom Quilts Blog to thank and celebrate people who have supported us this year... to give them the credit they should receive, for without you I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to do all that I have.

For those of you who are not yet supporters, it's never to late join in. We also would like for you to invite others to check out the blog site and have them put comments also. See about buying a ticket to win the beautiful quilt that we are raffling to raise funds.



Thank you and God bless.

Linda Madsen, thank you for your many talents, your dedication, and your amazing sugar cookies!

Linda Madsen is truly a talented woman. She is an excellent sewer and can sew anything you put in front of her. She has made entire quilts for this project, she has sewn blocks, sashing, boarders, binding, and ties quilts.

Linda is always coming up with fresh, new ideas to make The Girls' jobs a little bit easier. For some time, the tables rattled like crazy when the girls sewed at fast speeds. Well, Linda suggested placing carpet samples beneath sewing machines to curb the rattling. She also suggested placing non-slip shelving paper beneath the sewing pedal to prevent it from sliding around.

Linda is a wife, a mother of 3 girls and a grandmother of 5 -- but with twins on the way, she'll soon be a grandmother of 7. Linda is a very active woman whose time is spent with family, helping Freedom Quilts, and keeping busy with her many hobbies. Linda's hobbies include quilting, volleyball, and decorating sugar cookies (which, according to many, are quite simply the best sugar cookies you'll ever have). Linda is very talented and warm hearted, and her smile just lights up the room.

Linda first heard about the Freedom Quilts project on TV. Soon afterward, she and her friends went to work designing blocks and making a quilt for the project. When Linda came to deliver the finished quilt, she was invited to stay help... and, she's been with Freedom Quilts ever since.

Linda has witnessed first-hand what these quilts mean to the families. She helped to present quilts to the 9/11 victim families, she was at the Des Moines Event where families of fallen soldiers received quilts, and she was there when Freedom Quilts hosted its own special event in Varina to present quilts to families of fallen soldiers.

Linda was there when we presented one of our quilts to the 911 Memorial Museum... when Former Governor George Pataki from New York City thanked all those who helped bring comfort to the 9/11 families.

Linda's focus is her family, and you can tell how much her family means to her when she talks about them. Her eyes twinkle with joy as she talks about her beautiful daughters and grandchildren. Her heart goes out to families that have lost a love one. Not to long ago, Linda lost her dad. She is the first to tell you how important family should be to all of us, and she always takes time to help others.

"It warms my heart to help someone in need", is what Linda will say to you.

Greetings! As many of you could probably guess, leading a nonprofit organization is a very busy endeavor. In an effort to help Betty (a great leader of FQ and my mom) and to support Freedom Quilt's mission, I'll be volunteering my time to help post updates on FQ news and events.

It is a joy and an honor to help out, and I look forward to being a part of the Freedom Quilts community!

New FQ Building

Freedom Quilts has a brand new building! Just a couple of weeks ago, final touches were made to our organization's new home. We've got plenty of workspace, a kitchen, bathroom, a whole lot of storage space, and excellent lighting. But the best thing about the new building is that it's ours. Volunteers (aka "The Girls") are thrilled to know that they finally have a place where they can put their work away at the end of the day and know it will be right there waiting for them when they come back.

This is a huge change from the way we've had to do business in the past. For the last seven years, we've been working in the basement of the parish hall. Each day of quilting required a time-consuming routine of transporting and setting up equipment and then tearing down at the end of the day.

Now, FQ didn't have to pay to use the space, but it always felt like a transitory set-up. We never knew how much more time our organization would have at the parish hall. Even the priest would ask, so... when are you planning on finding another place? Do you know how much longer you'll be using the hall? Everyone felt like we were on borrowed time. We knew we'd eventually have to find a real home for the organization.

The new building also has number of comforts which were missing from the hall. Number one -- Heat. We keep the new building nice and warm, which comes in handy during cold Midwest winters. This is a welcomed change from the number of winter afternoons in the hall when we sat there quilting in our winter coats. One chilly day, you could even see your own breath in the air!

Ahh... Freedom Quilts finally has a place to call home!