Local church's sewing group
donates quilts to sheriff's office

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

On Tuesday, March 10, several ladies from Monticello's St. Margaret Catholic Church made a special donation to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO).
Many times, the deputies at the JCSO are called upon to respond to crimes and traumatic incidents that involve young children.
These incidents can leave children feeling frightened and alone – so three of the St. Margaret's ladies who are involved the church's Sew-Blessed quilting circle decided to partner with the sheriff's office to provide these children with a feeling of comfort and security.
In the midst of a crisis, these children will be given a special comfort-quilt to hold and be wrapped up in, keeping them safe, secure and warm.
All 20 of the JCSO's new comfort-quilts have been made by hand and then donated to the agency by the Sew-Blessed quilting and sewing group.
According to Betty Bard, the project idea came about when she heard of another quilting/sewing group from Hernando County undertaking a similar project for their sheriff's office.
“My son is a deputy in Hernando County,” explains Bard. “I heard about a sewing group down there that donated quilts for the deputies to keep in their cars.”
In Monticello, the group had already been involved in sewing projects, as Bard explains that Sew-Blessed have sewn clothing for Dr. Wesley Scoles, of Monticello, to take to the Amazon River area each year.
While Dr. Scoles tends to the health needs of the people who live along the Amazon River, the clothes created by Sew-Blessed have been given out to children who need new dresses or pants.
Because of this project, Bard says that Sew-Blessed had plenty of fabric material and undertaking the quilting project wasn't difficult.
Along with Bard, two other ladies in the group – Rhonda Martin and Beverly Stright – began creating the beautiful quilts.
It took the ladies around three months to sew the 20 quilts, and on Tuesday, March 10, the quilts were presented to Jefferson County Sheriff Mac McNeill and donated.
“On behalf of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, I’d like to thank the Sew Blessed sewing guild for their kind and heartfelt donation of quilts to help comfort victims and those in need,” said Sheriff McNeill. “This is just another reason why the citizens of our community are truly the best.”