This is what a shipment of quilts looks like when they are about to be washed, folded, boxed and sent. This batch of 73 quilts was sent last September to Casa Alitas, a shelter in Tucson committed to helping asylum-seekers.
You’ll probably never meet the person wrapped in the quilt you made. She’ll never know the reason you took the time to choose the fabric, to cut the pieces or to stitch the seams.
But there is a tangible clue to the caring that went into your quilt. Each quilt in the hands of a new emigrant bears a label with eight simple words: Made for You with Love by Bienvenidos Quilts. These labels are attached by members of First Crew at First Congregational Church in Portland before the quilts are sent or delivered to shelters at the border.
With or without the labels, each of us who has made a quilt or worked on this project understands the care that goes into each quilt. Thank you all for the part you’ve played.
Just over two years ago, in March 2021, photographs of children and teens in detention centers on our southern border, huddled in aluminum warming blankets, appeared in the media. Those photos inspired us to begin making quilts to envelop those children – and their families – in welcome.
Some of us began sewing right away. On May 3, 2021, socially distanced and outside on a porch, we gathered for tea and got organized. We mark that as our “official” anniversary. A few months later we found our name.
So much has happened in those two years.
Most important of all: we have created and experienced great measures of love.
No matter how you’ve touched this organization, thank you. The need continues, as does our gratitude.
In honor of our second anniversary, Pat Fitzgerald, friend of Bienvenidos Quilts, photographed our quilts hanging in the historic First Congregational UCC sanctuary in Portland. The quilts will be on display in the sanctuary while they await distribution to organizations at the border – usually in groups of 40 or 50. ~ Rachel Stevens, First Crew, Portland, Oregon
On February 26, 2023, First Congregational UCC dedicated around 40 quilts before they were sent to shelters at the Mexican border. The Bienvenidos Quilts workshop is located at the church in downtown Portland, Oregon.
Rev. Brigitta Remole’s words of blessing: Gracious God, maker of all things. You have blessed us with so many gifts: a good eye for color; the ability to make fine stitches; the skills to develop ever new and beautiful patterns. Today we dedicate the fruits of this labor, these quilts, we dedicate them to your service, trusting that your love will go wherever each quilt is sent. Making it more than just a piece of material, a collection, making each piece we have created an expression of love. There is no way for us to imagine the power and effect an act of love can have on a person’s life. How you can use something as small as a quilt to radiate your love from us to the world. May these quilts be used in your service and become blessings for all those who receive them. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“The point, of course, is not the quilts; they are simply the strategy by which we can tell the children and families at the southern border that they are welcomed, honored and loved.”
From the Bienvenidos Quilts 2022 Annual Report
Bienvenidos Quilts is more than sewing. Keeping track of all the quilts, over 400 so far, can be a tad challenging. When we began the project, we used pieces of paper attached to each quilt to track their status. These were put into binders when the quilts left our hands. Christina Hellums, a member of First Crew, has now developed a spreadsheet so we can keep track of quilts more coherently. Eventually, she will be able to merge photographs of the quilts with the data in the spreadsheet.
“When this project was placed in our hands and hearts, we were given two words to guide us: The first is Trust. The second is also Trust.”
From the Bienvenidos Quilts 2022 Annual Report
Bienvenidos Quilts 