On Monday April 12, the Kiwanis Club of Alpena received a presentation from Ginny Roland about the Young Children Priority One “Kiwanis Kwilting for Kids” baby quilt program, which addresses the needs of children prenatal to age 5. Ginny’s presentation covered the practical side of making a baby quilt — the material required, batting and backing — and the typical costs of materials for a quilt. She also covered the typical volunteer hours a quilter might spend in creating a baby quilt from quilt conception to finished quilt. It gave the club an idea of the considerable amount of donated materials and volunteer hours encompassed in the 125 quilts donated by the Kiwanis Club of Alpena through Preemie Pals to the C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital in the 2019-2020 project year.

Preemie Pals, located in Saline, Michigan, donates quilts for Ann Arbor’s University of Michigan Brandon Neo-Natal Intensive care unit (NICU) located at the C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital. The Brandon NICU is a Level IV care center for all levels of acute care. Babies are flown to Mott Hospital from all over Michigan and neighboring states. The Brandon NICU treats over 1,200 neo-natal babies per year…thus they can use 1,200 quilts per year.

In 2020, Preemie Pals donated over 750 quilts to Mott Hospital. Kiwanis clubs of Michigan supplied 350 of those quilts and the Kiwanis Club of Alpena donated over 125 of those 350. The Kiwanis Club of Alpena wants to pass along appreciation to all those quilters who gave of their time and materials to make this program a success over the last two years and we hope that you will continue to support this program for the kids.

The quilts are usually 100% cotton, are approximately 36 x 42 inches in size and are used to cover the isolettes for premature babies (see picture). The quilts are all washed in very high temperature water before being used to insure safety. The quilts help control humidity, light, temperature, and sound…surrounding the babies in comfort. The baby (and family) takes his or her quilt home with them. For more information about Preemie Pals and pictures of the quilts donated go to Preemie Pals on Facebook.

The Kiwanis Club of Alpena new project year for collecting these quilts is underway from October 2020 to October 2021…so Kwilters can donate quilts now and throughout the coming year. Kwilters can make basic block quilts, or any pattern of their choice. If Kwilters do not have fabric, backing material, or batting, Kiwanis Kwilting for Kids program will provide any or all of these items to you, as needed. The Kiwanis Club of Alpena’s goal is to provide a minimum of 100 quilts to Preemie Pals for the 2020-2021 year. If you or your quilt group would like to help be part of Kiwanis Club of Alpena Kwilting for Kids project, contact Ginny Roland at 512-718-9592 or ginnyroland@gmail.com.