Part 18 of Tales of the Travelling 15th Anniversary Laundry Bags

Here you go. Episode 18 of the Tales of the Travelling 15th Anniversary Laundry Bags.  Enjoy!

Every year, usually in October, we hold our Aussie Hero Quilts Annual Thank You Weekend in Canberra. You will see me advertise our Annual Dinner regularly but what you might not know is that the Thank You Weekend includes six events in three days  for our attending volunteers. The highlight of the weekend is the Annual Dinner but on either side of that we have other events and we need somewhere that all our volunteers can stay.

Anyone who has ever organised a function for up to 250 guests knows that there is a lot of work involved in setting up the function and ensuring it runs smoothly.  For a small organisation like Aussie Hero Quilts, without the budget for an event planner or a PR team, anything we can do to make the evening, let alone the whole weekend run smoothly is much appreciated. That is why we love returning to The Rex Hotel every year. They do their utmost to help us to make sure that our weekend runs smoothly and they are wonderful at looking after our volunteers and other guests.

"The Canberra Rex Hotel is proud to be an ongoing supporter of Aussie Quilt Heroes and one of our favourite events of the year. Having been involved with this meaningful annual event for the past six years, we look forward to continuing our partnership for many more years to come!"

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Alec from Ray White is another long term supporter who we are so lucky to have. As he says he is our "Official, Unoffical Auctioneer" for our Annual Dinners and I cannot overstate the value he adds to our event. We are so grateful to have his support again this year.

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Today’s 15th Anniversary Laundry Bag post is from a husband and wife who have been supporters, and recipients, of Aussie Hero Quilts since its early days. SQNLDR Samantha Ashen received her quilt on her first deployment to Kandahar Airfield Afghanistan back in 2013, and again travelled with it to Southern Lebanon during her deployment within the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation. Her husband Peter, an ex Army helicopter pilot, more recently was selected to represent the families of current and ex serving members in Gallipoli, Türkiye, as part of the Department of Veterans Affairs Commemoration Team, assisting with the delivery of commemorative activities on ANZAC Day this year.

The quilt featured in these photos will be auctioned during our 15th Anniversary Dinner in Canberra on 17 October to raise funds to help us to continue with our mission of supporting our ADF Veterans.

From Samantha - “In Aussie Hero Quilts’ 15th year, we thought of no more of a unique way to afford the ANZAC legacy in to future quilts. Peter was given some AHQ fabric, and he purchased some fabric on a recent trip to New Zealand to donate. He took both to Gallipoli to dip in to the waters of Anzac Cove and bring home. I know many recipients have tears, dust and sand in their quilts and laundry bags that will never be washed out. We hope these unwashed fabrics will serve as a link to legacy that too will never be washed away."

The ANZAC Cove Quilt: Top made by Lynn F and quilted by Philomena H.

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Another one of our great friends who is contributing to our 15^th Anniversary Dinner is Jock.  His messages speaks for itself.

“In 2017 I was the Ship’s Warrant Officer in HMAS Choules, deployed to the Whitsunday Islands as part of the ADF’s response to Tropical Cyclone Debbie. At the time I had barely heard of Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry Bags, nor did I understand what they did or why. Fortunately, our Chaplain did. He knew exactly what they were all about.

One stunning Whitsunday Tuesday morning, a shipment of laundry bags arrived for the crew to thank us for our service during TC Debbie Assist. It was a significant moment in my career. Although the bags were given to us collectively, not individually, it was the first time anyone outside my family or the military had ever recognised or thanked me for simply doing my job. The significance was not lost on me.

Several years later, my wife Katrina was talking with JM and — as all good wives do — volunteered my services to help with the AHQ Welcome Evening in 2023. JM rang me the day before to let me know I had a speaking role at 1920. This was news to me. The topic was my “relationship with AHQ”, which at that point consisted solely of receiving a laundry bag back in 2017.

I had a great night and offered to help again in 2024 at the Rex Hotel. You can imagine my surprise when CAPT Guy Blackburn called out my official number and asked me to the stage to receive my quilt. I had absolutely no idea. I was disappointed my family couldn’t be there — but I was glad the quilters were present to see the presentation.

I walked on stage and Guy pointed to the door… and there they were. My entire family.

That’s the thing about JM: she somehow manages to hook you in. The difference between JM and my wife Katrina is that, from time to time, I can build up the courage to say no to Katrina. I have yet to show that same courage with JM.

I’m reasonably handy with woodwork, and it has been my pleasure to make several challenge coin “stadiums” (as JM calls them) to auction off and help raise the funds AHQ needs to keep going. JM has also “pimped out” my services because, as she says, she knows a guy. I’ve made a stadium for the previous Governor-General, one for the newly appointed Chief of Army, and any number of lucky door prizes for the quilters.

Thank you JM all the wonderful volunteer quilters, embroiderers, and helpers. 15 is a significant milestone — one you should all be immensely proud of. Thank you from a very grateful recipient of both a very well‑used laundry bag and an absolutely amazing quilt.

The work you do is appreciated more than you can imagine, and I look forward to repaying your generosity for the next 15 years and beyond.”

#Aussieheroquilts #AusAirForce #AusArmy #AusNavy #15yearsofcaringforourADF

What a great bunch of supporters.  We are so grateful for all of them.

Standby for the next lot of stories in Part 19.

Keep spreading the word and happy stitching! 

Jan-Maree xx