North Lebanon Township Police Department cruisers are now equipped with homemade quilts for children in distress, thanks to the actions of a local woman.
Ann Davis of North Lebanon Township moved to the area from Massachusetts in 2003. Right away, she found a community in the Lebanon Quilters Guild.
“The first thing I did was find a guild, because you find an instant group of friends,” said Davis.
Through the guild, Davis first began donating quilts to Domestic Violence Intervention of Lebanon County. She estimates that she’s probably donated 150 quilts to DVI’s shelter over the years.
Equipped with a long arm quilting machine that she acquired upon moving to Lebanon County, Davis can produce a quilt in a few days, faster than she could if she quilted by hand or used a domestic machine. At this point in her life, she said that 90% of the quilts she produces are for charity (with the other 10% directed towards family members).
At the DVI shelter, the quilts bring comfort to children who may have arrived at the shelter with nothing.
Davis also donates quilts to Quilts of Valor, which distributes quilts to service members and veterans who have been touched by war as a sign of appreciation for their sacrifice and service.
She’s donated so many quilts over the years to DVI that she wondered if maybe there were other organizations who might be interested in having some. Davis, who lives about a mile and a half from the NLTPD station, said that she reached out to the department a couple weeks ago weeks and it was an immediate “yes” on their part.
Since she already had some quilts made, she brought them over. Six, to be exact, so that each of the department’s cruisers could be outfitted with a quilt.
The quilts made for DVI and NLTPD tend to be bright and colorful, whereas the quilts for Quilts of Valor have a patriotic palette of red, white, and blue.
“Because of their purpose, hopefully they won’t be used for a long time,” said Davis, but if a quilt is used, Davis will replace it, so that the quilt may remain with the child who may have endured a traumatic experience.
“Thank you Ann,” said the police department in a Facebook post announcing the donation. “You are a special person and we are grateful to have you as one of our residents!”
If you want to support Davis’ work or get involved yourself, you can reach out to the Lebanon Quilters Guild or Quilts of Valor.
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