Hey all,
I am a bit late posting these tales. I had Tues - Thurs in Canberra last week to attend the Cheif of Army Handover Parade and the following reception. What a privilege to be invited and how wonderful to see a friend make history.
Back in Sydney now but as of Friday night, down with the lurgy! Doh!!!
So anyway, here are the posts I shared last week.
Here is another of our volunteers, Bridget. Wait til you see how many quilts and bags
Bridget has made in the last ten years.
That number does not include all the other jobs Bridget has done for us including
a myriad of tasks required to keep everyone sewing at our Headquarters.
Volunteers like Bridget are very much the unsung heroes of our organisation.
"I heard about Aussie Heroes early 2016 when there was an
article in my local paper about Jan-Maree being awarded a OAM. After contacting
her I was invited to her home to find out more, along with others who had also
read the article. That was the start of many new friendships and still, 10
years later, we meet weekly at JM’s for a sewing day.
We even met during Covid times we set up the quilting
machine and materials in JM’s garage and we had sewing days at one of the other
volunteer’s homes. Her garage was set up as her sewing room and that was when
we became known as the “Garage Girls”.
I’m so glad I found out about Aussie Heroes as I now have a
purpose for my hobby. Over the last 10 years I have made over a 1000 laundry
bags and over 900 quilts."
With the Craft and Quilt Fair coming up again this week I
could not resist sharing this volunteer’s story. I promise I am usually more reliable about
getting back to people who are interested in volunteering but I guess having
our house burn down buys me a little slack.
Definitely a once in a lifetime experience… the house fire that is, not
the Craft and Quilt Fair.
“I was walking through the Quilt and Craft show in Sydney
and was interested by the colourful display. It turned out to be Aussie Heroes.
I knew I would've been interested in joining as I enjoyed
designing quilts but I had made quilts for everyone in my family. I gave my name to a volunteer but never heard
anything.
I later found out Jan Maree's house burnt down soon after
the show.
I shopped regularly at Craft Depot which was a large fabric
store at Pennant Hills station. When I saw Jan Maree buying lots of fabric, I
introduced myself and she invited me to her sewing group ……. and I stayed. That
was how I started sewing for Aussie Hero
Quilts.”
Bel says she was lucky enough to join our admin team. We are a the lucky ones. Not many people want to sit and answer emails
and keep our records up to date but thankfully we have a few that do and I am
so grateful. For the first 9 years of Aussie Hero Quilts I answered all the
emails myself. There is no way I could do that now so our Admin volunteers are
worth their weight in GOLD!
“On my birthday in 2021, I eagerly became a volunteer for
AHQ and have just completed my 61st quilt (sitting on the table in the photo)
and 69th laundry bag (not the one I am holding!)
I was also lucky enough to be able to join the Admin team a
couple of years ago to give our fearless leader Jan-Maree a hand with many odd
jobs. I haven't missed a Thank You
Weekend in Canberra since I started.
It's one of my favourite times of the year! I pretty much have a continual count down on
my phone for that one weekend in October!
I know intimately what life is like in service of your
country having joined the Navy in 1989.
I am still serving, although as a Reserve member these days. In fact my
whole family is in the Navy - husband since 1992, daughter since 2022 and my
son who starts at Recruit school at the beginning of August this year. Maybe my grandson will be a 2nd generation
sailor in about 16 years time!
I would dearly love to be able to retire and sew all day,
but I don't think my fabric stash is big enough yet. Some might disagree!!!
My life has definitely changed for the better and I am truly
blessed to be a part of such a fantastic group of volunteers who freely give up
their time and materials to give comfort
and an unforgettable memento to our service men and women.“
By the way, it just so happens to be Bel's birthday again today! Happy Birthday Bel!
And whilst we are talking birthdays, hasppy birthday to Cath Hpr tomorrow and happy 60th Wedding Anniversary to the Birdies!!!
Till next time.... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!
Jan-Maree xx
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