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!







Sunday, August 14, 2011

Quilt distributions and Thank-you's!!

Where has summer gone?? Soon the leaves will be turning and the snow falling! Our project continues to move forward, seeking ways to reach the families of the fallen. . .
A very HUGE Thank-you to Chris of Lolly's Fabrics in Shipshewana, who delivered 21 finished quilts to me this week! Her store participated in a Quilts of Valor/Soldier Quilts project, and she very generously donated some to our project. What beautiful works of art and care and compassion we have been receiving! We have been able to finish quilts with the donations given earlier this year and begin to set up appointments for distribution.
Steve and Ronda Hunsberger coordinate the meetings with other families and have been a tremendous source of support, encouragement, and help. Their heart of compassion for others who, like themselves, have experienced the ultimate sacrifice is amazing! We have been able to meet with 5 families so far and plans for more meetings are in the works. If you are reading this and are the family member of a fallen soldier, or personally know someone, PLEASE contact me. We are doing our best to reach the families in Indiana, but it takes time. It can be from any state, we are focusing on Indiana, but will certainly not turn away anyone! It has been our mission from the start to share support, love, and compassion through the comfort of a quilt.
While in my heart I wish that I would not be meeting these families for this reason, it is an honor and a privilege to spend some time with them. . .to hear their stories and the stories of their loved one. My life changed on June 27, 2008 and God willing, I will never be the same!
Following are a few pictures from our recent gatherings. I'm choosing not to identify individuals to respect their privacy. When you look at them, see the faces of the men and women who serve to keep us free. Say a prayer for the ones left behind, and one for those still serving and protecting. I will never stop reminding us all. . . our freedom is not free!! God bless you and God bless the USA

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1 comment:

soldierzmom2 said...

Thank you, again Dawn, for your tireless work in organizing this much blessed effort! It was SO good spending time with precious friends who lost their son/brother/uncle in either Iraq or Afghanistan.
Thank you to those who give materials, monetary donations, and beautiful quilts, works of art!! Everytime we share these "Quilts of Honor", the families are SO moved and blessed by the beauty of these gifts! You have chosen to be a part of showing care and healing to hurting, grieving families.

August 16, 2011 at 5:34 AM

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