Our History

Catherine Roberts’ Dream

Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 with a dream, literally a dream. Founder Catherine Roberts’ son Nat was deployed in Iraq.  According to Catherine:

The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter. Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and well-being. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my dream was:  Quilts = Healing.

The model appeared simple: have a volunteer team who would donate their time and materials to make a quilt. One person would piece the top and the other would quilt it. I saw the name for this special quilt: it was Quilt of Valor, a QOV.

 

Touched By War

“Not everyone answers the call to serve our country. It is those rare individuals who are selfless enough to sacrifice so much so we can all enjoy the freedom we have. We’ll never know exactly what each Veteran experiences and how they are touched by war. But we can welcome our Veterans home, support them and their families, and thank them for their service whenever possible.”

Lori Thompson

Former Executive Director 2021 - 2023

Today’s modern military is comprised of volunteers. Each of them stepped forward to ensure a way of life is protected for their fellow citizens. They give up their freedom, time at home with loved ones, make other sacrifices and ultimately have no guarantee of safety. For me, that is valorous and I am grateful.

Tammany McDaniel

Former Executive Director 2019-2021

The Oath of Enlistment states, ”I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

All enemies, foreign and domestic.  These Veterans vowed to lay down their lives for you and me, no questions asked. We cannot judge what being “touched by war” means to a Veteran. It will be different for each one, no matter where or when they served.

A nurse serving in Landstuhl, Walter Reed or Topeka, KS, a general serving in the Pentagon, an infantry soldier serving in a war zone, in a humanitarian effort, or down the street at the local armory. No judgment, but trust.

Trust that these Veterans have been touched by war. Trust that they will tell you if they do not feel they should receive a Quilt of Valor. Be inclusive, not exclusive, for who today has not been touched by war, veteran or civilian, abroad, or in our own country?

Ann Rehbein

Former Executive Director 2015-2019

I believe I will always remember the Vietnam Veterans’ stories of how badly they were treated when they returned to the United States of America. I will always tear up when I think about their words, “this is the first time anyone has thanked me for my services,” fifty years after they served. I believe war demons live and remain with Veterans for all of their lives.

Susan Gordon

Former Executive Director 2012-2015

June Moore

First Executive Director 2010-2012

Today’s military is composed of volunteers and has always been about having their buddy’s back. From those “in the rear with the gear,” to the front-line service member, being touched by war can take many forms. Anyone who has taken the Oath of Enlistment has accepted the burden and risk and may be touched by war in ways that are not totally apparent. Whether in times of war or peace, we cannot know what they experienced and how it affected them. The point is not to discriminate, but to honor.

I believe it is not our job to judge whether someone deserves a QOV, but rather do they need one.

Catherine Roberts

Founder and Director 2003-2012

A Quilt of Valor is…

From the beginning, Catherine Roberts had definite ideas about standards of excellence for Quilts of Valor:

I knew a Quilt of Valor had to be a quality-made quilt, not a “charity quilt.”  A Quilt of Valor had to be quilted, not tied, which meant hand or machine quilting. It would be “awarded,” not just passed out like magazines or videos, and would say unequivocally, “Thank you for your service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation.”

 

The QOVF Timeline

September 2023

Quilts of Valor Foundation celebrated our 20th Anniversary Conference in Paducah, Kentucky. A special recap is listed in our September/October Threads newsletter. We also have videos on our YouTube channel to share.

May 2023

We had an outstanding number of 300 participates who supported and took part in the QOVF Take 5. The Quilts of Valor Take 5: Run, Walk, Block raised essential funds to help advance the mission of our foundation: to cover Service Members and Veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

Join us as we will run, walk, and quilt block again on May 18, 2024, the official day of Armed Forces Day. Registration will open in February 5, 2024. 

May 2023

QOVF celebrated another award milestone by awarding the 350,000th Quilt of Valor ® to Representative Jason Crow (CO-06), a former Army Ranger and Bronze Star Recipient.

October 2022

QOVF second book, All-Star Quilts of Valor: 25 Patriotic Patterns from Star Designers was release on October 27, 2022 and is available for purchase in our QOVF Shop. The book features patterns from 27 popular industry designers. The 27 quilt designers know quilts can honor and even heal. They created these new patterns for Quilts of Valor to share the organization’s commitment “to cover our veterans and service members with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.” 
                                             

We partnered with Letters from Home: The 50 States Tour

                                     

April 2022

We celebrated a major milestone by awarding the 300,000th quilt on April 20, 2022. The quilt recipient is Craig McKee of Cincinnati, Ohio. Craig served in the United States Air Force from February 1992 to June 2000 earning the rank of Staff Sergeant. Craig began his Air Force career in Law Enforcement and eventually became a Resource Protection Officer. Craig is now a news anchor with ABC affiliate WCPO in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 300,000th quilt awarded to Craig was sewn by Michelle Nelson, QOVF’s Finance Director and former board member, and quilted by the Quilts of Valor Foundation’s Executive Director, Lori Thompson.

October 2021

We are are Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope.  The third novel from Janice Lynn published by Hallmark/Crown Media is released. This year’s book includes the Hope Quilt Pattern Challenge winner.

Lori Thompson appointed as Executive Director of Quilts of Valor Foundation.

November 2020

Our Inagural 5K Run/Walk was launched.  Each year on the Saturday before Veterans Day, we will have the QOVF 5K Run/Walk to honor all of our Veterans.

October 2020

We are are Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy.  The second novel from Janice Lynn published by Hallmark/Crown Media is released. When a quilt shop owner finds a former Marine’s journal, she longs to heal his heart.  And wrap him in a Quilt of Valor.

June 2020

We are a movement of over 10,000 volunteer members across 600 groups in all 50 States. We are represented by almost 700 volunteer leaders whose objective is to bring healing to Service Members and Veterans. We believe in gratitude and that our quilts bring a tangible comfort to those we award.

We have made and awarded over 250,000 QOVs throughout the US and overseas. QOVs have traveled from the US to war-stricken areas, been carried by medics in mobile hospital units, awarded on aircraft carriers and on foreign soil. Most of our QOVs are awarded in communities across the United States.

Our volunteers have inspired Quilts of Valor – Canada Society which comprises members in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. We’ve ignited movements whose seeds are being planted now in New Zealand and South Korea.

This started with one woman…Catherine Roberts

Today, she resides in the Northwest and we occasionally speak about current initiatives. She is eager to hear about our progress and what has happened since those early beginnings. We can tell her that as of January 2020, we had almost 15,000 open QOV nominations in our system. We can discuss the movement of QOVs across the nation – from tops to quilters and back again – many hands contribute to each QOV.

Threads
March 2020

“QOVF has reached 245,000 service members and veterans, showing our gratitude and valuing their contribution to our freedoms”

October 2019

Let’s get Wrapped Up In Christmas by Janice Lynn is a publication by Hallmark/Crown Media. It is the first QOV heartwarming love story about a Veteran awarded a QOV who sets out on a journey to the find the person who made it.

March 2019

“QOVF has reached significant milestones in the past several months. As many of you know, we’ve awarded more than 212,000 quilts throughout our nation to date. Our membership coordinator reported membership has grown to more than 10,300.”

January 2019

Tammany McDaniel appointed as Executive Director of Quilts of Valor Foundation.

December 2018

We have reached over 5,000 volunteer members and we are establishing infrastructure to capture our nomination information. We were working with an all-volunteer staff from Executive Director, Executive Staff, State and District Coordinators and Group Leaders. Our Board of Directors (volunteers) had begun to formalize our systems and the board positions necessary to guide us with legal, financial, marketing and trademark information.

Our first publication, featuring a QOV made in each state sold out two print runs and continues to sell well.

Our partnership with Janome America resulted in the production of a Janome 3160QOV sewing machine featuring the QOVF logo.

We partnered with American Gold Star Mothers and the National Grange

 

2015-2019

Ann Rehbein appointed as Executive Director of Quilts of Valor Foundation.

“What an amazing time this is for Quilts of Valor Foundation. All over this great nation, commemorating 200,000th, QOVs have been awarded in recent weeks.”

2012-2015

Susan Gordon appointed as Executive Director of Quilts of Valor Foundation.

As the Foundation grew, it was time to consider formalizing an organizational structure. In keeping with a spirit of Grass Roots Movements, groups continued to function. However, the emphasis was placed on:

  1. Bringing our finances in compliance with Federal laws
  2. Introducing membership to the foundation
  3. Creating policies & procedures

During this time, we focused on maintaining a sense of ownership in each community while assisting with the needs of every business – licenses, incorporations, permits, insurance and such. The Foundation realized there would have to be an umbrella (The Foundation) that allowed the local groups to continue their work.

We determined the best way to manage those overarching costs was to establish a group membership and a discounted individual group member opportunity. Those funds allowed The Foundation to carry the administrative costs for acquiring licenses, permits, renewing corporate filings and covering events with genera liability coverage.

This led to a realization that we must accept certain limitations on groups and The Foundation itself. Forming policies and procedures helped set the structure of what groups could do to conduct the local business of QOVF and what would no longer be viable.

It was a challenging time which allowed for copious input from all levels of the organization and created the beginnings of relationships between disparate groups through national training conferences.

Threads
December 2013

“It’s that time of year when every organization under the 501(c)(3) sun is asking for donations. Quilts of Valor Foundation needs funds for administration expenses too, such as web site maintenance and redesign, liability insurance, state nonprofit status filings, postage for brochure mailings, and legal fees. However, there is one caveat. QOVF is not requesting monetary donations from you, our community’s generous quilters and longarmers.”  ~ Catherine Roberts, Founder

2010-2012

June Moore appointed as Executive Director of Quilts of Valor Foundation.

“Without June, Quilts of Valor Foundation would not be here today,” comments Catherine. “June guided QOVF through a growth spurt that has amazed us all. During her tenure, we’ve transitioned from a small team to a true national non-profit. June’s get’er done personality has literally kept QOVF going.”

Threads
September 2011

“I have been at the QOV helm for almost eight years. Many wonderful things have happened since November 2003. We are close to 50,000 awarded QOVs.

Quilts of Valor is a name that is known internationally. Nine fabric companies have created and produced gorgeous American Valor fabrics. Marianne Fons, who has become an integral part of the QOV family, conceived of an engaging model of garnering new quilters with the Under Our Wing program. We have more than 10 nationwide, dedicated, volunteer Regional Coordinators whose primary task is to nurture and guide people who want to make QOVs.

June Moore and Lori Kutch have been running the operational portion of the QOV Foundation while Joyce Lundrigan manages our little shop.”

Threads
February 2011

“Last month, we announced the birth of our new and exciting program, Under Our Wings (UOW) which resides on our QOVF.org website. UOW invites and enables each and everyone of you to participate in national service. We see making a Quilt of Valor for someone who has stood in harm’s way and been touched by war as participating in national service.

In less than a month, we have had over 110 quilt shops register to be an official UOW Quilt Shop. These shops are a resource no matter where you are on the quilting scale. If you quilt and want a Rookie but can’t find one, they will help you find someone to take under your wing.

If you don’t sew and want to make a QOV, they can partner you up with your own Quilt Coach. If you aren’t the sewing type but still want to do something, they can put you to work.”  ~ Catherine Roberts, Founder

Civilian Awardees

The philosophy of inclusion widened when Catherine became aware of the work that goes on at Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations (AFMAO), located at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

Catherine Roberts recalls: I read an essay by Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl called “Taking Chance Home.” In the essay, Strobl recounts how he escorted the body of Marine Private Chance Phillips to his home in Wyoming for burial. Strobl took the reader through AFMAO, describing who the staff was and what they did to prepare the remains of the fallen for burial. I realized that workers at Dover, though they were stateside, were as touched by war as anyone downrange or “in theater.”
We established a relationship with the AFMAO and set a date for an awards ceremony. The day of the ceremony I received a call from the chaplain saying we had a big problem—some of the staff at Dover were civilians. As they all worked as a team, a family, awarding Quilts of Valor only to military service members would not work. The decision was made to award quilts to all working at the Port Mortuary, and this policy has continued ever since.

The Light of Inclusion

Catherine Roberts remembers: I affectionately referred to these young men as “babies” to distinguish them from veterans of other conflicts. Among us civilians, there were no complaints, as we were in the throes of an ongoing war. However, there were faint rumblings from those who worked at Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMCs). They politely pointed out it wasn’t fair to award a QOV to one group…

The light of inclusiveness began to glimmer.

A group of us got together for a quilting retreat. One of our activities for the weekend was to award quilts at an event called “American Veterans Tribute and Traveling Wall Exhibit” in Bellingham. I could not find a group of OIF/OEF veterans for the QOVs we brought that day. A group of Vietnam veterans were there to perform a “Patriot Guard” ride past the Vietnam traveling memorial wall on their motorcycles. This event changed my whole outlook on who should receive a Quilt of Valor. As we were awarding quilts, the Vietnam vets said over and over again, “Ma’am, this is the first time in forty years anyone has ever thanked me for my service.” All of us were thunderstruck.

How the Foundation Grew

From Catherine Robert’s home in Seaford, DE, the Quilts of Valor movement spread across the nation and beyond through the power of word-of-mouth and the Internet.

According to Catherine: The team consisted of a quilt-topper, a person who pieces the top from various fabrics, and a quilter who uses a “longarm” quilting machine to create beautiful machine quilting. Our longarmers immediately played a crucial role in making our quilt tops go from hohum to “wow.” …Other key players on our team who helped our growing community get things done, in addition to those making quilts from coast to coast, were the “longarm coordinator” and “destination coordinator.” Our “points of contact” throughout the world identified recipients and often facilitated the actual awards ceremonies.

November 2003

The first Quilt Of Valor was awarded November, 2003 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) to a young soldier from Minnesota.

Catherine recalls: Chaplain John Kallerson opened the door for us at Walter Reed primarily because his wife Connie Kallerson happened to be a quilter. She impressed upon him how comforting quilts can be.

On that day ½ of the 300 QOVs were awarded to the physically wounded and ½ were awarded to those struggling with psychological/emotional trauma and distress.