For 25 years the Hunters Hill Quilters in New South Wales have been raising money for worthwhile charities while enjoying the creativity and friendship that comes when you get 70 quilting devotees together. Redkite, a group supporting children, young people and their families affected by childhood cancer and Cansupport, a cancer support and information service, are just two recent recipients of the group’s assistance.
“When women get together they talk about everything and anything, whether that be health problems or just general support for each other. We solve the world’s problems but we also enjoy the craft of quilting too,” says Audrey Lindsay, the President of the group.
A native of Canada, Audrey joined the group when she retired in 2000. She says that when the group gathers each week they get a lot of quilting done but, on the first Thursday of every month, they concentrate on a charity specific group project.
“Some of the long term members, though, they’ve given quilts to all their loved ones, made enough for families and friends, so they work on charity quilts at every session now,” she says. “Since it was founded, initially to make a quilt for Australia’s Bicentennial, the group has had a tradition of giving. It’s great for members to work towards common goals and it does feel good to hand over the quilts to the charities and to know they’re helping to raise money.”
Sometimes representatives of the recipient charities will attend Thursday sessions to give short talks on their organisation so the quilters understand where the money is going and why it is needed. “For instance,” says Audrey, “ when the people from Cansupport came they told us how they were going to auction our one-off quilt at their fundraising Ball with a view to setting up a stand-alone meditation centre for women with cancer.”
At other times the quilts made by the Hunters Hill women (and they are all women - aged anywhere from early 30s to late 80s) might make 25 quilts to be distributed to clients of Mission Australia. These quilts are not auctioned or sold, they are used.
“We also support Stepping Stone House which cares for young people who are homeless, for various, troubling reasons. They can’t live at home anymore but Stepping Stone helps them, by putting them up in accommodation, to achieve their HSC, it teaches them how to live in the world, manage bank accounts and the like, and our quilts go to house members,” says Audrey. “At Christmas we also give goodies to these youngsters. We always get letters back from them. I’m talking about adolescents who have never received a gift before... and all of a sudden they’re getting a handmade quilt.”
When disaster strikes, such as the Eyre Peninsula Bushfire of January 2005 (later called the ‘Black Tuesday’ fires), the group will gather up unallocated quilts from amongst members and send them off too.
Word has spread about the stitchers good work and now charities tend to approach them. “We make contacts in all kinds of ways,” says Audrey who says the Cansupport group, for instance, discovered the Hunters Hill Quilters when she sat next to the head of the Cancer Council at one of its official morning tea fundraisers. “He asked me what I did, I told him and he said, ‘Oh yes, I think we could use one of those quilts!”
Hunters Hill Quilters is open to new members and Audrey says, “Just arrive any Thursday at the Hall and you’ll be perfectly welcome. We’ll show you what we do.”
Find out more
• The Hunters Hill Quilters generally meet on Thursdays from 10am to 2:30pm at Fairland Hall, 14 Church Street Hunters Hill. Drop in and say hello.
• For charities looking for support, send your written request to PO Box 1006 Hunters Hill, NSW, 2110.
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