We Remember and Give Thanks This Thanksgiving Day

November Meetings Recap

Ginger's IMOR quilt bound

Janet's

Pieced by Diana (L) and quilted by Pat (R)

Quilted by Pat

Hand Binding by Irene

Assembled by Ginger (R) and quilted by Barb (L)

Ginger's Finish - In Memory of Roger

Ginger's Top - In Memory of Roger

Ginger's Top - In Memory of Roger

Quilted by Virginia

Fabric Donations

Another Bolt Donated by Barb!

A huge assortment of donated blocks from Lisa and Mary

More donated blocks from Lisa and Mary

 THE LADIES AT WORK:

November Meeting Notice

November Meeting Dates –

Friday, November 21^st and Monday, November 24^th

You are welcome to attend one or both meetings of our

Quilts of Valor group and stay the entire time or join us

anytime between 10 – 4:00 on meeting days.

We meet at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop

12330 Racetrack Rd, Tampa

From 10:00 – 4:00

You may want to bring:

(1)   A sewing machine and/or

(2)  Cutting supplies.

You do not need to sign up to attend!

Mark Your Calendar

November Meeting Dates –

Friday, November 21^st and Monday, November 24^th

We Celebrate Veterans

Oct Monday Meeting Recap

Here are some photos from the CT Quilters' second meeting in October:

Ginger's Oct Quilt in Memory of Roger

Another Bonnie Hunter design completed by Janet

Jelly Roll from Linda (R) - Bound by Irene (L)

A Beauty by Sharon K

A Ton Quilted by Pat B !!

Irene is the Queen of Hand Binding

ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US AT OUT NEXT MEETING ON FRIDAY, NOV 21st !!

Oct Meeting Recap

The CT Quilters have been working with donated Hearth and Home blocks across the USA.  These blocks were part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation's 2014 Challenge.  Here are some of the blocks and the ladies working on them:

And this was a lovely top made and donated by Pat this month:

Important News from the QOV Foundation

The following is from the QOV®F Newsletter of Oct 13, 2014.  It is shared here due to the changes that are in process for the organization.  Anyone may sign up for the Newsletter on the QOVF website or on the QOVF Facebook Page (you must be a member of facebook for this link).

Please note that this is the fourth message in a series - you may be interested in the first three messages also - refer to the above links.

The Quilts of Valor ® Foundation 

Getting Our Financial House In Order

From Susan Gordon

Dear Volunteers,

I'm starting this next e-blast by sharing some background information that I hope will help you understand why we are making the current changes.

During the early years following Catherine's dream of healing the wounded with quilts, sew groups began to form around the country. As the number of volunteers and quilts increased, Catherine recognized the need to become a 501(c)(3) and took the time and effort to register the foundation, making financial donations to our mission tax deductible.

Also, a QOVF website was born. We listed sew groups on the site and used Facebook to communicate with quilters by posting information there. We had no published policies or procedures in those days.

Eventually, QOVF had a monthly newsletter, but we also experienced a long period without a newsletter to communicate the guidelines of our rapidly growing foundation to volunteers, simply because no volunteer with the needed skills was found. In the meantime, technology improved, and now we have-in addition to our quality monthly newsletter QOVF Threads-"Constant Contact," which we use to send messages like this to our 7000 and growing email list. We now also have a published Policies & Procedures Manual with clear guidelines regarding the "whys" and the "hows" of what we do at QOVF. The "P & P" is available on our website  www.QOVF.org as a downloadable pdf.

Just a few years ago, our Board of Directors applied for national trademarks for the words Quilts of Valor®, Quilt of Valor®, and QOV®. The approval process was lengthy, but with our trademark applications now approved, we have a responsibility to protect our trademarks and monitor their use; our Policies & Procedures Manual helps us to do that.

Earlier this year, as we worked to get our policies and procedures into publishable form, our team spent a great deal of time thinking about how to create a way to ensure that the administrative costs any growing national organization must bear would be shared by all. These expenses include our Constant Contact contract, our website, our tax return, our state fundraising registrations in the states that require filing, our liability insurance policy, and other costs.

The decision was made to transition to a membership structure-to ask our volunteers to pay a nominal fee to actually join Quilts of Valor Foundation as card-carrying members. Becoming a membership organization enables us to put our financial house in order. Member groups must designate a Group Leader who will take the responsibility of keeping records of the group's local fundraising activities, reporting and turning in local funds to our national treasurer, and monitoring reimbursements.

Keeping accurate financial records is critical for maintaining our 501(c)(3) status and filing our annual tax return. Charging a nominal annual membership fee means everyone in Quilts of Valor Foundation shares in the expenses necessary to operate the foundation. With our financial record-keep in order, we'll be in the position to seek financial support from both inside and outside the quilting industry. We'll be in a position to order and pay for a financial audit of our books.

Financial transparency is important, and the independent audit mentioned above is a goal of our Board of Directors and Executive Staff. With additional funding, we'll be able to "give back" much more to local groups. Right now, we're asking our community of volunteers to step up and become members, and we hope that within a short time we'll have extra resources to not only help local groups buy more fabric and supplies to use locally, but to also set up scholarships and grants to enable people who can't afford fabric themselves make Quilts of Valor.

Our Core Values say we are accountable. 

We are accountable to our donors, our volunteers, and our recipients. We must also be accountable for the funds that are raised in the name of Quilts of Valor.  From now on, groups who represent themselves as QOV groups and who raise money locally are required to send their funds to national treasurer, who maintains our records and supplies them to our tax preparer. Without local accountability, we can't be accountable at the national level.

The good news is that, now, 100% of the funds you raise locally are available for reimbursement. With our new membership structure, everyone helps with shared "national" expenses. There is no need for 10% of your funds to be earmarked for these expenses as they once were. Refunds of the 10% that was held at national in this past year have been made to all local groups. Going forward, when you apply for reimbursements, our Treasury Services Coordinator and our National Treasurer are committed to getting reimbursement to local groups within 14 working days provided documentation is in order. Check the Policies & Procedures Manual for this procedure.

Thanks for your passion and devotion to our mission. Please let Sharon Ledbetter (sharon.ledbetter@QOVF.org) or me (susan.gordon@QOVF.org)know if you have questions. 

Susan

October Meeting Notice

 October Meeting Dates –

Friday, October 24^th and Monday, October 27^th

You are welcome to attend one or both meetings of our

Quilts of Valor group and stay the entire time or join us

anytime between 10 – 4:00 on meeting days.

We meet at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop

12330 Racetrack Rd, Tampa

From 10:00 – 4:00

We have:

(1)   quilt tops  ready to assemble/sew and

(2)   binding strips ready to sew.

We will also need:

(1)   to cut strips and

(2)  assemble more kits.

You do not need to sign up to attend!

Mark Your Calendar

October Meeting Dates –

Friday, October 24^th and Monday, October 27^th

Two More Special Awards

In case you did not see these posts to the Quilts of Valor Foundation’s Facebook page, Janice V. was able to award two Quilts of Valor in recent months.

The first was made in August to John G., who currently works with Janice.  John was in the Navy and served aboard a submarine.  As Janice explains:

  “[Submariners are often referred to as serving in the “Quiet Service”].  The nickname is both a description of their job with a very large stealth vessel in all their missions and the fact no crew member ever boasts of what they do or did.” 

Janice thinks these service members are often overlooked for a well-deserved Quilt of Valor and she was proud to award this quilt to John:

 

John G (left) and Herb S (owner of the company)

The second award that Janice made was in September to Miguel A., a member of the FL National Guard.

Miguel has already served in the Middle East (or as Janice and insiders call it “the Sandbox”) with his unit.  Janice explained that Miguel is one of the special civilian soldiers that give up their personal time and lives in defense of our Country. 

 

Janice (left), Miguel (middle) and Leticia (right)

As an important side note, Miguel’s wife serves full-time with the FL National Guard.  It is a special family that has two soldiers who serve our Nation the way they do.

WE JOIN WITH JANICE TO WISH BOTH

 OF THESE GENTLEMEN WELL AND

 THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR SERVICE !!