Jody Edwards (right) presented quilts to UMOM in Phoenix at the New Day Center.
Jody Edwards (left) and Diana Jones (right) presented quilts to Kristen Kerns (center) for the U.S. Veterans organization in Phoenix.
Sue Bart
Our community service chair, Jody Edwards, with President Diana Jones, delivered 15 quilts to U.S. Veterans on May 14. They also delivered 31 kids’ quilts, nine adult quilts, and two knitted afghans to United Methodist Outreach Ministries (UMOM) in Phoenix. What was amazing about this delivery was that all of the quilts delivered had been finished between January and May. The afghans were donated by a community member. Last November and December, we delivered eight quilts to U.S. Veterans and 18 quilts to My Sister’s Place, which provides domestic violence assistance, and 55 quilted placemats to Neighbors Who Care, volunteers who respond to the ever-changing needs of the local aging community. Now we have started all over again with collecting more finished quilts.
What is UMOM? UMOM operates shelters that provide families, single women, military Veteran families, and youth with a chance to turn their lives around. This organization started in 1964 and was incorporated in 1985 as UMOM. Today it is far more than the Methodist Church outreach. The 32-member board of directors includes individuals from businesses and corporations from across the state. UMOM provides crisis shelter, supportive services, and affordable housing. There are five separate shelters: New Day Center for families, including families of military Veterans; Halle Women’s Center for single women without children, which opened in June 2017 and is the first Arizona shelter designed specifically for single women; Open Hands Emergency Crisis Shelter for Youth ages 12 through 17, a six-bed residential emergency shelter in Phoenix serving approximately 200 youth each year; Youth Shelters: The Transitional Independent Living Program for teens and young adults ages 16 through 21, serving teens who experience homelessness for a variety of reasons, including aging out of the foster care system. Street Outreach and Youth Engagement Team, for youth ages 18 through 24, providing free supportive services for young adults who are experiencing homelessness. Services include, food, water, and hygiene and personal care items, case management, housing navigation, and the coordinated entry point for HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) housing programs.
Desert Threads quilters welcome any donations (money, time, and fabric), to help with ongoing support of our chosen organizations, whether you are a quilter or not. You can join our members to make quilts or just to appreciate quilts. We also welcome guests.
Meetings are held on the second Wednesday morning of every month. Some meetings are virtual, some in person. Summer meetings will be via Zoom. We have several in-person Sew Days each month. Desert Threads is a chapter of the Arizona Quilters Guild (AQG) which has very informative virtual lectures and classes each month (see a list of events at www.arizonaquiltersguild.org). To learn more about how to participate, send an email with contact information to [email protected]. Someone will email or call you. You can also ask for a digital copy of our newsletter.