District 35 Retired Teachers donate quilts to Kenora-Rainy River Child and Family Services. Staff Photo
Making spirits brighter for local children in care.
It’s a project that’s been six months in the making as District 35 Dryden members of the Retired Teachers of Ontario and Sunset Country quilters have gifted 26 handmade quilts to children in care.
“We have a number of quilters that belong to RTO and so along with our local quilting community, we approached Child and Family Services to see whether they’d be interested in us making quilts for children coming into foster care,” says Member Kathy Boone. “Our hope was that this would be an opportunity for them (children in care) to have something new, something that’s just for them that they can keep and take with them for as long as they need. ”
One of the 26 quilts donated. Staff Photo.
Boone adds one of their members, who’s nearly 90 year old, has also donated five crocheted blankets.
“Quilting is such a specialty and a lot of time and energy goes into each quilt because each one is different, just like all our children in care are different, so having a quilt for each child is fantastic,” says Vince Kastrukoff Director of Services for the Dryden branch of Kenora-Rainy River District Child and Family Services. “They can keep that with them as they get older and it’s special just for them, in particular this time of year (with the holidays).”
Kastrukoff adds, “Thank you to the retired teachers for doing this because it’s a wonderful thing to offer a child something like this, it makes them feel so special especially if they can’t be with their family for whatever reason it might be that they have something they can say is theirs this special time of year.”
Each quilt and blanket will be distributed to a child or youth in foster care in the region.
The local district of RTO also hopes to make this an annual donation and partnership.
