The Power of Community
I've spent a lot of time over the last week thinking about community. Specifically, the quilting and blogging community. Sometimes this space feels so vast. So many blogs, so much Instagram, so many wonderful projects and books and blog hops going on at once. It can seem overwhelming. And then, there are times when you feel like you just know each person, even if you've never met in real life.
Part of the reason I've been thinking about community these last several days is because, as many of you know by now, last week we lost a special member of ours, Kathreen Ricketson. I keep thinking about the amazing journey Kathreen and her family were taking around Australia. Many of us were following her on Instagram. It's just beyond heartbreaking. For those wishing to help Kathreen's son and daughter, Whip Up has posted information on donating money to an education fund for them.
Something Kristin wrote last week really resonated with me. She was blogging about Kathreen and her partner Rob, and their two children, and said "The crafting community is compassionate, generous and action-oriented, so we always want to do something in times of tragedy." I can't stop thinking about that statement. We are an community of action.
Photo from Natalie of Greenleaf Goods
I know this to be true. Last month, after the bombing in Boston, charity drives of all sorts started happening. Quilts for Boston has gathered over 1100 blocks for their quilts, and blocks are still pouring in.
Photo from Natalie of Greenleaf Goods
To Boston with Love, the flag bunting drive, received over 1600(!!!) flags - over a mile long!
Photo from Amy of During Quiet Time
Flags from all continents except Antarctica. They will be displayed this weekend (Memorial Day Weekend) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Photo from Amy of During Quiet Time
The Oklahoma City Modern Quilt Guild (OKCMQG) is having a quilt drive and auction for victims of last weeks devastating tornado in Moore, OK.
In the age of the internet, our community is global. My husband says this means we see more bad things happen and we feel them personally. That's true I guess. But we also respond globally and I'm very proud to be part of this presence.
I've spent the week thinking about an easy way people can find how to help when bad things happen. I receive a lot of emails asking me to mention various needs on my blog. I've decided to dedicate a page to listing these requests.
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?page_id=2772" title="Community Giving"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3821/8798935963_73c817efdb_o.jpg" alt="Community Giving" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
The page is up at the top and called "Community Giving". I hope that helps make it a bit easier for you to be part of the good we can accomplish together. If you have a cause you'd like me to include on this new page, click on over to see the information I need from you to be included the list.