AMHERST - It doesn't matter if they don't know the recipients - they do it because they care.
Members of the Victoria's Quilts Canada Tantramar branch are continuously seeing requests coming in for their handmade quilts for cancer patients.
"I love quilting and I love for others to be able to enjoy it," said Bev Peck, one of more than two dozen members of the only branch in Nova Scotia.
For the past year-and-a-half, the branch has received more than 40 requests for quilts and the requests are coming in regularly.
"Recipients are overwhelmed with the fact that people made them a quilt without knowing them," said Tantramar branch president Mary Sinclair.
"We're a sharing community."
Sinclair started the branch because there was none in Nova Scotia. She started the first branch in Quebec as well after hearing about the organization at a quilt show in Ontario.
The quilts are provided at no cost to the cancer patient to help bring some physical and spiritual comfort while battling the disease.
With regular requests coming in for their territory, the Tantramar branch is starting a fundraising drive to purchase supplies.
The branch supplies quilts to cancer patients from the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick border to between Truro and New Glasgow, as well as all points in between.
The Tantramar branch meets every second Wednesday of the month at the Masonic Temple. There, the women continue working on the quilts and tote bags.
Their next workday will feature a blueberry luncheon open to the public. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., visitors can enjoy sandwiches and blueberry desserts for a small fee.
For more information or to make a donation, contact the Victoria's Quilts Canada Tantramar branch at 667-7401.
rtetanish@amherstdaily.com
