'Something they can call their own': Manitoba volunteers creating quilts for Ukrainian refugees

One Manitoba woman is bringing together a group of volunteers to create quilts for Ukrainian refugees coming to the province.

Maureen Carr, who lives in Carman, Man., decided to organize this quilt-making initiative after watching the news last month.

“I said to my husband, ‘What can we do?’” she said in an interview on Wednesday.

“It’s just so sad what’s happening over there [in Ukraine]. So I said, “Why don’t we make some quilts and share them with the ones that are coming here?’ It’s something they can call their own.”

She then put out a request on social media for fabric, quilters and volunteers to help assemble the blankets, and got in touch with the Legion to use its hall as a space to make the blankets.

Carr said people from all over the province stepped up to help, describing the response as “overwhelming.”

“All of a sudden we got people coming from Sundown, Man., Winnipeg, Carman, St. Claude, Portage, Oakville,” she said.

“It’s all throughout southern Manitoba we’ve had lots of people come in and help.”

Carr noted she’s had about 40 to 50 women volunteer for the initiative. She said not only have people helped to make the quilts, but some people dropped off already-made quilts for them to give to the refugees.

Volunteers making the quilts. (Source: Maureen Carr)

So far, they have more than 160 quilts. On top of that, Carr said they raised over $1,500 at a quilt show this past weekend.

“Since then I’ve been getting more people donating fabric, and one lady the other day brought us eight garbage bags full of yardage fabric,” she said.

“This is fabric that has not been cut into little pieces or anything like that…it was just amazing.”

To get the quilts to the refugees, Carr is working the Ukrainian Canadian Congress of Manitoba.

“When they start to have the refugees arriving in Manitoba, what they’re going to do is have someone go to the airport and greet them. What our intention is, is to have them give a quilt to every individual,” she explained.

“That’s including the infants, the children, the teenagers, the mothers and the grandparents. They will all receive a quilt for themselves to have.”

One of the quilts made for the Ukrainian refugees. (Source: Maureen Carr)

As for why she decided on making quilts for the Ukrainian refugees, Carr said she loves to make them.

“A quilt is not only warmth to the body, but it also gives warmth to the heart and soul, knowing that someone cares,” she said.

Carr noted that that they are putting a label on the back of each quilt saying, “Welcome to Canada. We care.”