November 11, 2021
Dorcas Quilts Newsletter January 2021
Review of Dorcas Quilts 2020
Happy New Year. 2020 is now behind us and will certainly be remembered as the year of the pandemic, Covid 19 and lockdowns. I hope that all of you and your families in Glasgow, Yeovil and Chichester have kept safe and well.
After the ‘bumper’ year of 2019 when we were able to send over 200 quilts I was hoping for another year of the same! However when Covid 19 began to spread and travel became restricted I was not expecting to be sending any quilts abroad. Miraculously and I believe with God’s help 2020 hasn’t been such a bad year for us.
Zimbabwe 2020
In June as restrictions began to ease we were able to take quilts and knitted children’s jumpers, baby hats as well as blankets up to Hertfordshire. We took 68 quilts and altogether 5 large boxes to be shipped out to Zimbabwe. I want to thank all the groups for your amazing response as I was delighted to receive so many quilts by post from Yeovil and Glasgow. Thank you so much.
Chichester Families in Crisis 2020
We have also been able to give away 14 quilts to our local women’s refuge which is called Families in Crisis.
So all in all we donated 82 quilts during 2020. A great and unexpected achievement for Dorcas during the difficult times we have had to face and all thanks to your kindness and hard work.
So what are the prospects for 2021?
Here in Chichester we opened the workshop in summer 2020 when restrictions were lifted but sadly we are closed at the moment. However our aim, as always, is to make as many quilts as we can. We will store them in the workshop so that when travel abroad is once again restored we will be able to meet any needs that come our way. I believe that all our contacts will need help so we want to be prepared! In the meantime there is a need here in the UK.
New Project: Isle of Wight 2021
There are two new possible openings on the Isle of Wight. One is a house for women who are living rough and are homeless. It is run by Hope into Action and through the help of churches they have set up houses all over the country. They seek to help to get women off the streets, provide them with shelter and to enable them to get back on their feet. We hope to send them just two quilts as soon as they are ready.
The second possible opening is to send quilts to a Women’s Refuge, where the women are fleeing from domestic violence. There are 6-8 women living in this particular refuge. I am waiting to hear back from the person who runs the refuge.
Zimbabwe 2021
As soon as the restrictions for travel are lifted we will be sending as many quilts and knitted items as we can to Zimbabwe. The shipment was due to leave at the end of January but that of course is not possible at the moment. Our contact for both Rwanda (Mama Packs) and Zimbabwe sends this message:
“Things are not well in Rwanda and Zimbabwe and we can’t ship anything at the moment. ……..Please thank the ladies for me and tell them to keep going”
Our needs for 2021
Dorcas Quilts has in the past primarily given to children but there has been an increasing number of requests for adult quilts. If any of you feel you are able and would like to make adult size quilts then that would be a great help. At the same time we do need many children’s quilts too. I thought it might be good to remind you of the sizes once more:
- Children 36”x 40” approx.
- Babies 32” x 38” approx.
- Women 60” x 80” approx. or larger
Dorcas Quilts would not be able to function without your tireless help. Thank you again for giving your valuable time, resources, hard work and prayers to enrich and bring God’s love to those who are living in much worse situations than we find ourselves in during these very strange and challenging times.
If you need any help or advice please let me know.
Dot Poulsom
Dorcas Quilts
January 2021
