In March, Gail Belmont, Executive Director of Quilts of Honor, came to speak about her group, and the cause and effect of giving back to Veterans from all of the branches of service. Quilts of Honor, with a similar mission to Quilts of Valor, who Belmont worked for previously, is devoted to creating veterans’ themed quilts and presenting them to those who have fought for our freedom overseas.
Belmont shared a story of how these quilts gained a show at Mount Vernon, after their original show never opened up due to the government shutdown. This was an especially great honor since Mount Vernon is owned by a small group, and it is unusual to not be affiliated and given a show. She also spoke about playing “Taps” at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, a subject that is incorporated in one of the quilts she showed. Lastly, she also shared stories of how these presentations have touched our troops, even giving them a chance to open up about the circumstances of their battles and how much their home means to them.
Her cause is close to her heart, you can tell, and her stories had us on the verge of tears, as there was more than one military family in the audience, this close to two former airbases. Her pamphlet explained how to order a Quilt of Honor for a loved serviceperson and offered the opportunity to aid in the program.
Slide show
See below for a quick show of Belmont’s group’s work. Also included is the Show and Tell portion of our meeting.
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