The Thief River Falls Quilter’s Guild is very active within the community and dedicates itself to assist entities in our communities that are not helped by other means. Recently, the guild donated five sewing machines to a Lincoln High School classroom to be used by students who are learning textile art. The group had previously shared three machines that were donated the year before by the guild. The class had grown in numbers to the point where students had to wait to work on projects. Volunteers from the guild will be taking part in a fun-day at Franklin Middle School working with sixth, seventh and eighth graders to create quilts that will be donated to single mothers in the community.

A quilt camp will be held in June to encourage young people to learn the art of quilting. The project is funded by guild fundraisers such as the yearly raffle quilt.  Quilt shows are put on at the local library to share our love of quilting with the community. A booth is also set up at the county fair for the same purpose and to recruit new members as well. Quilts and magazines are donated to the local library to encourage residents of the TRF area to learn how to quilt.

            Members of the guild also made bibs and wheel chair totes for people in nursing homes and CNC. No other group in the area provides such a service. The guild donates quilts to the Violence Intervention Project for families that had to relocate due to violence in their lives. Quilts were provided for children in order to make the transition less traumatic. So many quilts had been donated to the VIP that they asked the guild if the quilts could be sold as a fund raiser to assist their budget.

            Guild members complete a quilt and donate it to local school district groups to be held as a fundraiser to assist the youth of our area. Quilts are made by members to donate to veterans groups and are then given to veterans who are recuperating in hospitals upon return from duty. The guild also donates quilts to project Linus, which is a nation-wide event to provide quilts to children. A quilt is also donated to the first baby born at the local hospital each year. A number of side groups within the guild challenge each other to create quilts for local relay for life teams as a fundraiser for cancer victims.