Veterans all over the country will be covered in honors this Veteran’s Day, but only a few will be covered in a gorgeous quilt, hand-made especially for them and certified by the Quilt of Valor Foundation.
Keats McLaughlin, an Air Force veteran with over 35 years of service and a SCRAPS volunteer, will be one of those lucky few. On Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Keats thinks he is helping SCRAPS transport animals to the local VA Home at 222 E. 5th for an event honoring the veterans. What he doesn’t know is that a Quilt of Valor will be awarded to him by Quilt of Valor’s Eastern Washington Representative, Diane Watters.
Quilts of Valor are awarded to military service members and veterans who have been touched by war and are considered a lifetime award. The QOV Foundation has strict guidelines as to how the quilt is made, finished and awarded.
QOV’s are stitched with love, prayers and healing thoughts. This particular quilt was made by a group of volunteers at SCRAPS called the SCRAPS Sew Sisters. Normally they work to create dog beds, fleece jackets and other items that are sold at the SCRAPS Bow Wow Meow Market. This quilt represents months of work and donations of time and material. Members of the group and staff from SCRAPS will be on hand to see Keats accept the quilt and offer their gratitude for his military service.
History of the Quilt of Valor
Catherine Roberts began the Quilts of Valor Foundation (QOVF) from her sewing room in Seaford, Delaware. Her son Nathanael’s year-long deployment to Iraq provided the initial inspiration, and her desire to see that returning warriors were welcomed home with the love and gratitude they deserved, provided the rest.
A Quilt of Valor is a generous lap-sized quilt (minimum of 55 X 65) made with quality fabrics and beautifully quilted. After it has been bound, washed, labeled and wrapped in a presentation case, it is ready to be awarded. Quilts are awarded at many different levels: they may go to military hospitals where Chaplains award them to service members; there may be awards of QOV’s to entire service units returning from deployments; they may be awarded at VA’s or awarded individually. But no matter how a Quilt of Valor is given, the impact it delivers is unequivocal.
SOURCE – SCRAPS release, November 2015
