Welcome to "Quilts of Honor - the Travis Project"







Quilts of Honor - the Travis Project, was created out of a desire to honor not only the memory of SSG Travis Hunsberger, but to show honor and respect to the men and women he served with. I made a quilt for Steve & Ronda, Travis' parents, and presented the idea of making more quilts for the soldiers at Fort Bragg. There are numerous wonderful organizations who provide quilts to wounded and hospitalized soldiers, but I felt led to do something different. We decided our first project would be to provide a quilt to each of the men in Travis' unit at the time of his death. Our goal was to accomplish this by Christmas. I am happy to report that we have exceeded our goal, and on December 10 2008, two men from our church, Wakarusa Missionary, headed off to North Carolina to deliver 19 quilts!! In May of 2009, we were able to deliver another 33 quilts!! Since then, we have delivered approximately 40 more quilts to families of the fallen and also to Wounded Warriors. Your help is still needed in lots of ways if we are to keep this project ongoing. First and foremost, pray for these brave men and women who serve each day to keep us free and protect us from those who would seek to do our nation harm. If you are a sewist or quilter, I can use you, if you would like to donate fabric or funds, I can use you. If you'd like to leave an encouraging word, or perhaps you knew Travis and would like to share a memory, I can use that too!



For more information on how you can help, contact me through this blog, by phone @ 574-849-7930, or by email, mamabech@msn.com.



To mail donations, send them to:



Quilts of Honor, c/o Dawn Bechtel, P.O. Box 613, Wakarusa, IN 46573. (Checks should be made out to Quilts of Honor.)



Thanks for stopping by, God bless you, and God Bless America!







Saturday, January 29, 2011

Progress!!

Thank-you never seems like enough to say when people give so generously! The last year has been difficult. . . As I've sought direction and guidance as to where to go with this project, I kept seemingly running into walls instead of open doors. In December in a conversation with two good friends, things changed. Thank you Mike and Tracey for your generous donation that allowed me to purchase the materials I needed to finish the 12 quilt tops that have been laying in my sewing room waiting. Through them I also had the honor of speaking to the American Legion Riders of Nappanee. Before I left that evening, I had a check in hand that will allow me to do some great things to keep the project alive! And it's not stopping! Meetings are being scheduled with other organizations that want to hear about what we are doing and possibly support us. Thank you Mike for being excited and for spreading the word and handing out brochures! After talking to Ronda about some ideas shared with me, it was exciting to learn she and Steve had also been thinking of some of the same things. A few changes will be made to how we distribute quilts. Our focus, for now, is going to be the families of fallen Indiana soldiers. Our desire is to continue to bring comfort in a small way, and to show our support for those who serve and those who sacrifice. As we work out the details, I will share more at a later date.
And I cannot forget to say a HUGE Thank-you to the faithful women who help me sew, quilt, and finish our quilts! They are some of the most caring, kind, and wonderful people and great friends! Thank-you Carolyn, Sandy, Rose Ann, Lynn, & Connie for jumping in to help keep the ball rolling! Special thanks to Lois for her beautiful works of art and the time and care she puts into every quilt she sews. I know I have not mentioned every person by name, and I apologize. I am overwhelmed. . . God is good! I am excited to be able to be a part of this project. I am humbled by the response. My heart aches for those who have lost a loved one in service to our country. May we never, ever forget that our freedom is not free!
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