A $500 Community Fund grant from Midwest Energy helped members of Cycle Sewing complete several bed quilts for service projects, according to Heather Hicks, a member of the group.
Cycle Sewing is a group of area residents who like sewing and quilting. They sew together at Great Bend Cycle on Saturdays and/or Sundays and make projects for various charitable purposes.
“(The members) taught me about making quilts and I was hooked on it,” Hicks said. As a customer of Midwest Energy, she was familiar with its community grant project and submitted an application.
“Fabric and materials for quilting can get expensive, especially when buying 6-8 yards for a bed quilt,” Hicks said. Sometimes fabric is donated to the group, but it isn’t always easy to get a bed-sized quilt from scraps and leftovers.
Past projects from this group have included providing quilts to St. Francis for children in foster care and to the Dream Center and Oxford Houses. They've also donated quilts to support area charity fundraisers and raffles. One member made a “Paris Quilt” that was donated to the CASA Chocolate Auction and an “Alphabet” quilt was donated to Catholic Charities for its upcoming fundraiser.
The group has also made fidget quilts, which are activity blankets that provide sensory and tactile stimulation for the restless hands of someone with dementia, ADD or autism spectrum disability. Other items members have made include walker bags and lap blankets.
Midwest Energy Community Fund
The Midwest Energy Community Fund was created in 2005 and provides funds to activities that focus on youth, arts, education, libraries, community events and similar projects. Five committees of Midwest Energy customers determine who receives the awards ranging from $50 to $1,000.
The Midwest Community Fund awards grants twice a year. One application round just ended and the deadline for the next round is October 1. Applications are being accepted now for disbursements in the spring of 2020. Interested organizations should visit www.mwenergy.com, and the “Community” tab, for guidelines and an application.
