Giving for the holidays abounds at Quilt Lovers’ Hangout
Quilt Lovers’ Hangout is now in the midst of several charitable endeavors for the holidays, with an outpouring from their customers that is truly in the holiday spirit.
Owners Debbie Olive and Gayle Cowdin have just finished a Thanksgiving Drive, preparing baskets for families in need in the area, each with a full turkey or ham dinner and all the fixings, complete with a quilt.
Now there’s the Circles of Life Quilt at their shop, to be raffled off for breast cancer care. The owners donated the material for the spectacular quilt, which travels to different locations. Raffle ticket sales benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
They’ve donated quilts to be auctioned at events to benefit a local teen who had cancer and a younger woman who needed open heart surgery but had no insurance. Other donations have bought prescriptions and glasses for local kids in need through Suncoast Outreach.
The list goes on and on.
Last week, they launched their Christmas campaign, a Giving Tree and food donations to make the holidays brighter for local children and families.
The Giving Tree is a tree festooned with ornaments made by local children who could use presents over the holidays. Children at a North Fort Myers area recreational center made the ornaments with their “wish list” of a holiday gift, and customers are invited to pick an ornament and fulfill that wish as best they can.
“The kids put their name, age, size of clothing and what they want – their wish on the ornament,” said Cowdin. “Customers can come in and pick an ornament and get a gift.”
And customers at the Quilt Lovers Hangout are giving tremendously this year, said both owners. In fact, customers trooped in one after another during a recent morning to drop off canned goods and other donations to support the shop’s community charitable efforts.
“We try to give back to the community,” said Olive of their efforts.
“It’s not just Debbie and I and our shop, it’s our customers,” added Cowdin. “We’re like a family. One customer, Peggy Dey, made 94 bags for breast cancer – she had a goal of 100. The bags are given to women diagnosed with breast cancer, and they are filled with literature, then they are able to use the bags to carry things back and forth from appointments.”
“It’s just a way of saying someone cares, cares about what they are going through,” said Olive. “It’s so important, there’s such a need out there. You just have to find it.”
And the need isn’t just for quilts to generate money. The partners even did a drive for used washers and dryers for local families who could really use them.
The two said they were amazed at what funds could do. From one quilt raffle sale they did recently did, not only did local individuals in need get glasses, prescriptions and personal items, the $1,000 raised helped a family of five that was living in a motel put a deposit on a house of their own.
“It’s fun to do,” said Olive.
“And it makes you feel good,” added Cowdin.
They try to reward the generosity of customers who donate at the shop. For each donation, customers get a ticket for their own drawing.
The two are now concentrating on their Giving Tree and Christmas dinner donations.
“Customers have gone above and beyond this year, so we think it will be successful. One of our customers even brought in three hams for the Thanksgiving drive,” said Olive.
They are asking that anyone who wishes to donate to their Christmas Drive do so by Dec. 17 or a few days before so items can be distributed in a timely manner.
They are celebrating their fifth year in business this January.
“We’ve always been best friends and it was a dream to open a shop together,” said Olive. “The one-on-one with the customers is what I like the most about the business, and you see so many talented women.”
They both say the shop is more like an extended family, a place for those to come in and share what’s going on in their lives. If a regular customer doesn’t come in, they call to check on them.
It’s a busy shop. Once a month the American Sewing Guild holds its monthly meetings there. They meet the fourth Tuesday of the month.
The North Community Park Recreational Center After School program has been one of the recipients from the shop.
“They just do so much for the community, they’re very giving, I really don’t know where they find the time to do it,” said Libby Olive, a senior recreation specialist for the Park who is also owner Olive’s daughter-inlaw.
“Our customers are so generous, you’ll find that with quilters,” said Cowdin.
Quilt Lover’s Hangout is located at 13494 N. Cleveland Ave. Donations may be dropped off at the Hangout, open seven days per week 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. For more information regarding the food drive and Giving Tree call them at 995-0045 or visit the Web site: quiltlovershangout.com.