American Hero Quilts marks 10 years, will host fundraising tea

A decade after American Hero Quilts delivered its first quilts to service men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, those involved still provide more than 100 quilts each month.

By Susan Riemer • November 17, 2015 2:49 pm
Sue Nebeker
Sue Nebeker

A decade after American Hero Quilts delivered its first quilts to service men and women wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, those involved still provide more than 100 quilts each month. This weekend, founder Sue Nebeker and a team of volunteers will host a fundraising tea to support the programs’ ongoing efforts.

“I never expected to go this long,” Nebeker said last week. “As long as they are fighting, as long as they are getting hurt, we are going to try to keep going.”

This year’s tea will include Captain David Collins as the honored guest. In 2013 and 2014, Collins served as the leader of the military trauma hospital located in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  Early this year Collins came to Vashon to thank Nebeker and her  stable of volunteers for their efforts, citing just how important the quilts were to those who received them.

“I can tell you that every one of those guys that came to our hospital truly appreciated receiving their quilt,”  he said at the time.

The event will showcase some of the project’s quilts and include letters written by quilt recipients and their families.

Nebeker continues to send quilts — 100 every other month — to Afghanistan and the Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base Lewis McChord.

The program’s focus is still on serving wounded warriors, Nebeker said, noting that being wounded has different meanings. As she has since she first started, she provides quilts to families of veterans who die by suicide, and she recently began providing quilts to a support program for veterans who were sexually assaulted while on duty.

As of last week,  Nebeker said, American Hero Quilts had provided nearly 21,500 quilts, a feat made possible with the help of numerous volunteers.

“Whenever we think people have given up and are not going to support us anymore, then we hear of people who are stepping up,” she said.

 

The tea will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Vashon Island Books, the former VFW Hall. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Vashon Bookshop. To reserve a ticket at the door, email helpinghands@americanheroquilts.com.