The following letter was received by Mary Ewing, Eastern Canada coordinator of Quilts of Valour Canada.
Dear Mary,
Today I was presented with my own quilt of valour, and was honoured and very proud in receiving this beautiful piece of artwork that was made by someone who truly cares and admires the sacrifices that our soldiers do on a daily basis.
I am still serving, I have had a very long and good military career of 26 years, numerous tours of Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. I am diagnosed with severe PTSD and suffer from back injuries. Your lovely quilt will be a new found comfort area for me and my soul to help me cope with the many challenges that lay before me in the years to come, while battling my horrors and daily pain.
I cannot thank you enough for what you and your group are doing for all the injured soldiers.
Yours truly Pte. R.G.
This is just one of many expressions of gratitude received from those who have been given quilts through the Quilt of Valour program. Each of the stitches in the quilt was likely made with a soldier or member of the armed forces in mind. The quilts are a show how much these men and women are appreciated for the often dangerous job they do. Each person who receives a quilt is either in recovery from injury or still dealing with issues such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
This past fall the Shirley quilters began making quilts for soldiers and now the organizers of the Sooke Fall Fair want to include these Quilts of Valour at the 2013 Sooke Fall Fair.
“This will give them lots of time to make the quilts and also make folks aware our big 100 year celebration coming up in 2013,” says June Wesley,who is organizing this category for the fair.
Quilters can enter in two categories and two different sizes of quilts. Adults and seniors can all enter to make either a lap size (50”x70”), or twin size (72”x96”). The same sizes apply if the quilt is made by a group.
“These quilts are to show our appreciation, support and encouragement to our military who put their lives at risk,” said Wesley.
The QoV category will be sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 54.
For more information ,contact June at 250-642-2032.
The Quilts of Valor Foundation was initially established in the U.S., but it was adopted by Lezley Zwaal of Edmonton, Alberta, in 2006.