Part 11 of the Tales of the travelling 15th Anniversary Laundry Bags.

To start off this week's Tales of our Travelling Laundry Bags, a quick celebration of a milestone we achieved that not all of you may have noticed.

When we sent off the first 15 laundry bags back in Novenber 2011, we could never have imagined that one day this same organisation would become a registered charity and would be celebrating having sent off 39,000 laundry bags. From little things big things grow and so it has been with Aussie Hero Quilts (and Laundry Bags). Huge, huge thanks has to go to the wonderful, generous volunteers who use their time, materials and creativity to make and send bags to people they are likely to never meet. They do it because they believe that our Australian Defence Force deserves to know that the Australian community supports them and this is our way of showing that. I always say that we have the absolute best volunteers, and I mean it. Their trust, faith and commitment in our mission is what keeps us going and them sewing.

39,000!! A great reason to celebrate our volunteers!

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As the following message and photos will show, the girls from @Prestige Medals are a pair of fabulous characters.  As well as their support through attendance at our dinners and donations of vouchers, they are also subject matter experts when it comes to medals etc.  They were also very kind to me when my house burned down in 2016.  I believe strongly in looking after those that look after us and also believe that just as Defence is a kind of Family, so is Aussie Hero Quilts. We are very pleased to have them in our corner.

“Many moons ago, when AHQ was but a baby in the world…..JM went to a Defence Family Day with her heart full of quilty goodness. While she was there, she had the extra special good luck to meet two young (ish) women who did military medals for the ADF, their families, and the wider community….and a friendship forged out of mutual respect for our ADF veterans was formed. What a fortuitous day it was!!! And we’ve never looked back

JM had the misfortune of her house burning down not long after, and we were more than devastated for her, and helped in the way we know how. Medals of her entitlement were very quickly made up and sent with our love. Because that’s what knowing about AHQ and all the brilliant volunteers does……you become family, and we’d do anything for the family we love.

We’ve met so many lovely people, introduced JM to one of ours who we all know and love (Pello) and been introduced to many in return (the Lam Chop himself, Crystal, Cathy, Heads of the Defence past, present…and future…the quilt and laundry bag makers…so many!!)

Over the years we have even been given laundry bags which are still used every time we go away. Top shelf stuff that!

While we were overseas JM kept in contact with Aussie goodies….Minties, Aussie bits and pieces, and we felt loved every time we opened one.

We’ve attended as many AHQ dinners as we have been able to and will continue to do so. It’s a great night!! With great people, and JM always allows us a table to show our medals.

We support Aussie Hero Quilts with gift vouchers for their auctions and they reciprocate sending brochures, and Can coolers go out with quilts and bags … we are Alex and Kirsty…Prestige Medals!! And Stella the Blue too.

Looking forward to the next 15 years, and many more after that.”

#Aussieheroquilts #AusAirForce #AusArmy #AusNavy #15yearsofcaringforourADF

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Supporting Defence Community Dogs by making the stay mats for them is a perfect fit for us. As two veteran support organisations we truly believe that together we are stronger.

"🐾 HAPPY 15TH ANNIVERSARY AUSSIE HERO QUILTS! 🐾

Our newest Defence Community Dogs graduated recently, and they celebrated this huge milestone by posing with the 15th Anniversary Travelling Laundry Bag! 🎓🎒

We want to send a massive thank you to Jan-Maree and the incredible network of volunteer stitchers for 15 years of looking after our ADF members and veterans.

We also want to highlight the very special connection between our two organisations: the custom Stay Mats that Aussie Hero Quilts beautifully crafts for us. For a Defence Community Dog, these mats are so much more than a comfortable place for our dogs to rest—they are an essential working tool.

Defence Community Dogs trains assistance dogs to support serving and ex-serving ADF members dealing with PTSD. When our teams are "out and about" navigating the public world, these mats give the dogs a familiar, designated anchor to stay focused and calm. They are also vital for home life, acting as the dog's base before they jump up to perform deep pressure therapy and break a veteran's night terror or panic attack.

Because standard fabrics can't handle the daily grind of a working dog, the Aussie Hero Quilts team generously sources heavy-duty, durable materials to ensure these mats survive the mission. We are incredibly grateful to the volunteers at Aussie Hero Quilts who donate their unique expertise, time, and advanced sewing skills to master these tough fabrics and bring these beautiful mats to life.

Thank you, Aussie Hero Quilts, for wrapping our human veterans and our four-legged heroes in love, comfort, and practical support for 15 wonderful years!🪡🎖️🐕

The Team at DCD"

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Now that the mighty Tankette has finished the Shitbox Rally, making it all the way to Townsville with one of our 15th Anniversary laundry bags, here is their last word from Jess regarding Aussie Hero Quilts and our 15th Anniversary Laundry Bags.

“I was lucky enough to receive an AHQ laundry bag in about October 2016 while deployed in the Middle East as the second in charge of public affairs for the region. I then received my quilt and a batch of Jan-Maree's famous Anzac biscuits in early January 2017 on the same deployment (I remember it arriving just after a deployed Christmas and New Year when everyone's morale was bit low).

I love my quilt - it's covered in dogs and cats to remind me of my pets, as well as a print for my love of land rover adventures. I still use it every single day and always travel with my rainbow zebra laundry bag.

Paul received his laundry bag while a competitor at the Invictus Games Toronto in 2017. After having tumours on his spine and needing spinal surgery to recover, he played golf at the Invictus Games - his laundry bag reminds him of that significant moment in his life.

We were so proud to carry the 15th anniversary laundry bag with us. We apologise to the new owner that it might come a little dusty but after 4000km of outback roads, we can definitely promise that it's ready for more adventures with whoever it ends up with. It's definitely a resilient laundry bag!”

This photo taken somewhere on the Burke Developmental Rd in the middle of the point of far Nth Qld

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I sent one of our laundry bags on deployment in January and only just got it back this week, but I have been sitting on the photos til I knew that all were home. Aussie Hero Quilts started out sending quilts and laundry bags to men and women on deployment in Afghanistan. These days, whilst we do so much more than that, boosting the morale of our deployed members is still very important to us. In the last 12 months we have sent parcels to 17 countries, as well as all over Australia, including Antarctica.

Posting to some of our deployments is difficult and unreliable at the moment, so it is not as easy to send the bags where I would like them to go so it was just as well I coordinated this one before the team left Australia. Now they are home, I can share these pictures.

“This photo was taken after the gunfire breakfast @ Wellington Barracks, London prior to us marching onto the Cenotaph with HRH the Princess of Wales, Princess Catherine for her first solo royal duty!

The second picture is my son and I leading the formation off the Cenotaph just behind HRH and this was posted to her and Prince William’s Instagram the same day!”

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And to finish off, a quick post that I shared on other social media platforms this week that I thought you would all enjoy.

Often people think of the joy and comfort our recipients feel when they receive one of our quilts or bags. One of the bonuses however, is the ripple effect caused when recipients contact their family to tell them or show them their new quilt or bag. I really love this message from the sister of a recipient.

When a recipient receives a quilt that represents something that is special to them, it shows an extra level of commitment by our volunteers to caring for that individual.

“Hello! I just wanted to send a quick message to say thank you for the work you do. My brother serves in the Navy and was recently gifted a themed quilt of his favourite movie. He was so excited by the delivery, but it also brought joy to our family - lovely to see him receive love and support even when away from home. It is such a kind gesture that is very much appreciated.”

Just a selection of the awesome movie themed quilts we have done....

What a great week... can't wait to see what next week brings.

Till next time, keep spreading the word and happy stitching!

Jan-Maree xx