Pedee Women’s Club (Pedee) has dedicated itself since the early 1900s to community service through quilting and food distribution. The club supports veterans abroad with care boxes that always contain homemade cookies. They donate quilts to the local veteran's care facilities with homemade lap quilts and twin blankets. The club also makes quilts for children in the care system.
Bio
The Pedee Women’s Club has been making quilts and handicrafts weekly since the early 1900s. Most of the women learned their skills either from their mothers or in school. They are dedicated to supporting the community through quilts, soldier boxes, providing emergency shelter, donating to the local charter school, and monetary donations. Since 1942, the women of the club have been sending boxes of cookies and other treats overseas to American soldiers. The club sends an average of 6 boxes overseas each month. They also support veterans locally by making lap quilts for the nearby veteran’s care facilities. In addition, the Pedee Women’s club also makes quilts for children in the foster care system. Fundraising for all these projects and for maintaining their club building is not easy. The club relies on their Fall Bazaar, a single annual fundraiser that dates back to 1979; the Bazaar features homemade pies, soup, candy, and baked goods. Although the club meets in Pedee (an unincorporated community in Polk county) and started as a gathering to quilt each week, women from all over the area, from Albany to Monmouth, attend their meetings. Those who don’t quilt bring other projects to work on, and some come to enjoy the community. Although the group has changed over the years, their dedication to craft and community service remains. They are sustained through group efforts and the support of the community they aim to give back to.
