On the first Friday of every month, a very remarkable thing happens inside the Oklahoma Quiltworks’ classroom. More than 20 volunteers flood the room with sewing machines, sergers, fabric, enthusiastic chatter and a whole lot of love to make quilts and receiving blankets for children whose families are in need of help.

Oklahoma Quiltworks supports, as its community project, Infant Crisis Services (ICS) by coordinating the effort and donating materials for this incredible quilt making project. The volunteers who donate their time, energy, love and talent complete more than 50 infant quilts and 100 receiving blankets for ICS each month.

"They are angels... the love they
 offer is evident when you hand a quilt to a family."

ICS is a non-profit, privately-funded, emergency food pantry that provides for the immediate needs of children from birth to 48 months of age. Children are referred to ICS by hospitals, local and state agencies. The center was created in 1984 and now provides formula, food, diapers, and other essential items to children more than 6,000 times each year. Every child who is served by ICS receives a quilt or receiving blanket donated through the love and hard work of the Quiltworks volunteers.

"They are angels as far as we’re concerned," says ICS Executive Director Miki Farris about the quilters. "The love they offer is evident when you hand a quilt to a family," she adds. "The nicest thing for us is when we take that new quilt out there and tell a family someone they don’t even know loves their child."

Volunteers who are unable to join in the all-day quilting session donate their time from home by cutting donated fabric into 6" squares so the quilters have everything they need to start sewing. If you are interested in donating your time to cut fabric from home, please contact Oklahoma Quiltworks. It requires very little skill, just experience with a rotary cutter.

The quilters are in need of large pieces of cotton fabric for quilt backs. If you have cotton fabric you’d like to donate for the infant quilts, please drop it off at the shop or give us a call. Remember, they need pieces large enough to complete an infant quilt back.

Jean Scott is the official coordinator of the shop’s Infant Crisis Services community project and gets everything ready for the monthly all-day swarm of volunteers who make infant quilts and receiving blankets. The ICS project occupies a lot of her time and energy and it's a project to which she contributes a great amount of enthusiasm.

Learn more about Infant Crisis Services by calling them at: (405) 528-3663 or e-mailing them at: info@infantcrisis.org.