Community Projects
The Common Thread Quilt Guild is a giving guild and has always had a mandate to give back to the local community. We have seen the generosity of members increase over the years, even during challenging times. Last year, we donated 624 quilts, from cuddle to bed-size, to our community partners!
Members continue to have the option of donating entire quilts or quilt tops, and we also have quilt top kits to sign out and complete. Donated and kit tops are then matched with backing, batting and binding and made into kits to sign out for quilting. Our professional long-arm quilters, as well as home quilters donate their time to quilt and complete these kits for distribution to our community.
Please remember our recipients. Theme fabric that is age appropriate is fine, particularly in scrap quilts, but please keep their tastes in mind as we work from our stash.
If you are looking for ideas of quilt patterns, check out the Patterns page on our website under the Resources menu. The direct link is: https://commonthreadquiltguild.ca/resources/patterns/)
These are the organizations that this guild helps at this time:
The Ottawa Hospital, General Campus – NICU
One of our most consistent charitable works is providing cuddle quilts to The Ottawa Hospital, General Campus NICU and Post-Partum Units. To date we have created more than 4000 of these quilts.
Recipients: Babies in either the Intensive Care Neo-Natal or Post-Partum Units.
- Quilt size: Cuddle Quilts: 22” x 22”
Interval House, Ottawa
Interval House is an organization that provides safe temporary housing for abused women and their families during difficult times.
Recipients: women and their families
Quilt sizes:
- single bed size (60”x72”)
- children’s sizes (36”x40” and 40×60”)
YM/YWCA
The YM/YWCA provides for a multitude of people. In particular, the T.R.Y. program is a supportive housing program for single adults who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness. The YM/YWCA also includes other programs for helping low income independent singles (adults over 25) as well as youth (ages 16-24) who are unable to live at home, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Recipients: Men, women, and youth
Quilt sizes:
- single bed size (60″ x 72″)
Carty House
This organization provides temporary housing for refugee women transitioning to homes.
Recipients: Women
- Preferred Quilt Sizes: 60″ x 72″ (single size) to 80″ x 90″ (queen size)
Cornerstone Housing for Women, Ottawa
Cornerstone is dedicated to improving the lives of homeless women, by helping them find a safe, affordable place to call home. They provide emergency shelter and supportive housing for women. Our quilts go to women who have found a home through Cornerstone.
Recipients: women who have found a home through Cornerstone
- Preferred quilt size: single bed size (60” x 72”)
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa (CHEO)
The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) is a major children’s hospital and university teaching hospital in Ottawa. Every year CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario. The CHEO Foundation also supports the children residing at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice – a pediatric hospice palliative care facility.
Recipients: children who are at CHEO long-term, or those who visit frequently, and children residing at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice
Quilt sizes:
- 36” x 48” for infants
- up to 50” x 70” for teens
Hospice Care of Ottawa
The Hospice Care of Ottawa provides final care to a variety of patients across 3 locations in Ottawa.
Quilt size for all: 50” x 60″ is preferred, but they will also take larger
Perley Rideau Veteran Care Centre
This is a senior care facility in the Ottawa area. We are providing “wheel chair” quilts.
Recipients: seniors both male and female
- Wheel chair quilt sizes: 36” x 36” or 36”x40”
Other organizations that have received our quilts in past years:
- CHEO Dialysis
- Quilts for OPP cruisers
- Ronald MacDonald House
- Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre, Orleans
- Celebration of the elders at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre
Our quilts have found their way into the arms of young and old alike.