SMUUF sewing guild donates comfort quilts to Uvalde families

The San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (SMUUF) Sewing Guild designed and sewed  60 small lap-size Comfort Quilts to donate to the families affected by the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.  

Ann Allen, Sewing Guild Organizer, said SMUUF’s Sewing Guild has met once a week for several years to donate small comfort quilts to many organizations.

“When asylum seekers were allowed to come across the Texas border to wait, we donated about 1,000 quilts to women and children who would be riding cold buses to various locations in the U.S. to their host families,” Allen said. “We’ve also donated quilts to the Hays Caldwell Women’s Center, to the local Head Start program, to Alzheimer’s patients, and at the end of this month, to the Child Protective Board to give to children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect and are sent to foster homes, often with only the clothes on their back.

“The colors and patterns of these quilts we delivered to Uvalde are so beautiful, we hope the families will experience some measure of comfort, compassion, and love that we have sewn into each one,” Allen added. 

Allen’s daughter, Becky Allen, and son, Pony Allen, delivered the quilts to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde on Friday, June 10.  Becky said, “Cynthia in the church office accepted our gifts graciously. We had a short conversation with Cynthia about the love they were receiving from all around.”  

Becky added,  “Walking on the square, among all the photos and toys and flowers, the love and caring was very evident. Seeing the sweet little children’s photos and the books left for them was very moving! One book in particular stood out. I could not hold back the tears —  ‘When I grow up, I want to be…’ It made my heart ache.”

“I am so pleased that the Sewing Guild could get these quilts together so quickly,” Pony said. “I am glad that Becky and I were able to deliver them to Uvalde.  It was such a gratifying experience for both of us.”

Sewing Guild members include: Ann Allen (Organizer), Barbara Jacobson, Becky Allen, Carolyn Robinson, Janet Wallgren, Jeanne Garthwaite, Judy Telford, Kate Clayton and Jeannie Lewis on Communication.

For more information about SMUUF or the Sewing Guild, visit their website at www.smuuf.org or  contact Jeannie Lewis, SMUUF Social Justice Chair, at jeannie@centurytel.net or 512-353-2872.