The Echo Sunshine Quilters have donated more than 1,000 placemats to Port Alberni’s Meals on Wheels organization over the past 13 years. This year—after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic—the club added 50 more to their total.
Each Meals on Wheels client receives a handmade placemat with a welcome pack when they join the program, coordinator Gina Burggraf said. With the Sunshine Quilters donation, all clients will be receiving a special placemat with their Christmas dinner.
There are approximately 30 people receiving meals up to five days per week. Volunteer drivers deliver meals every day between 4–5 p.m. with two meals delivered on Saturday (the restaurant that supplies the meals is not open Sundays or Mondays).
This is Burggraf’s first year as Meals on Wheels coordinator: she joined the organization in July.
“I’ve heard from clients that they appreciate the homemade placemats,” she said. “It’s absolutely amazing that the quilters take time to make these to give to our clients.
“As a quilter myself, I know the work involved in making these. The effort is very much appreciated.”
As Burggraf was packing up the placemats to take back to the Meals on Wheels office, quilters were already working on placemats for 2023. “We’ll start building up a stack again,” one person quipped as she started her sewing machine.
“It starts tomorrow,” a new club member said.