Maria was delighted to open the biennial charity exhibition of North Hampshire Quilters held at the Costello School.
Beautiful quilts and smaller items made by members of a North Hampshire club were displayed in a school hall as they raised money for charity.
North Hants Quilters club has 65 members of all ages, all levels of experience, who meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, offering a mixed and enjoyable schedule of evening meetings, which include speakers, patchwork shops for retail therapy, mini-workshops, information sharing and hands on patchwork evenings.
Maria said ‘I was delighted to open the biennial charity exhibition of North Hampshire Quilters, which helped to raise much needed funds for Basingstoke NeighbourCare and CRY (Cardiac Research in the Young) charities. I was pleased to meet with the many members of the club and to see the beautiful works on display."
A raffle was held in aid of Basingstoke NeighbourCare and CRY (Cardiac Research in the Young) for a beautiful hand crafted king sized Quilt,
‘Neighbour Care’. This is a small local charity that began in the late 90’s. Basingstoke has a higher than National Average of elderly who cannot drive and live where there is no public transport. The charity has two strings: the driving of people to appointments and the other to provide a regular visitor to befriend housebound residents. The charity has running costs of £70K per annum. £2½ K comes from BDBC and some has, in the past, come from the Lottery.
‘Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY)’. One of our members lost her son through this. The CRY aim is to prevent sudden young cardiac deaths through awareness, research and the provision of regular testing events. They also offer support to young people diagnosed with potentially life threatening cardiac conditions and offers bereavement support to families affected by young sudden cardiac death.