One of two guilts for the First Family.
A group of grandmothers, part of a WSSU program for grandparents, were hoping for a unique holiday gift – a trip to the White House to present a gift to President Obama. That didn’t happen, but they are still hopeful about meeting with the president.
The seven women created a quilt for Obama and requested to meet with him through U.S. Sen. Richard Burr’s (R- North Carolina) office. They anxiously wait, pray and sew.
“This quilt is special because it is filled with love and prayers,” says Shirley Smith, a local grandparent participant in WSSU’s Grandparenting program who coordinated the creation of the quilt.
The full-bed-sized quilt includes the seals of each state and the District of Columbia, according to Smith. She said the grandmothers felt motivated when the president caught their attention in a unique way.
“Back when President Obama first announced he was running for president, and we learned he was raised — and had a special relationship — with his grandmother, we knew he would be a special person, even when many thought he didn’t have a chance,” Smith said.
The grandmothers met and started praying and knitting. They prayed throughout the entire 800-hour sewing process. It took eight months; the quilt is just about finished.
“Anyone raised by their grandmother has special insight into people and the world,” Smith says.
“I envision this quilt as something the President can use to cover himself to relax under a tree or something. It has enough prayers in it to cover him in love and work for him in blessings,” she adds.
WSSU’s Grandparenting program is affiliated with the School of Health Sciences and the Division of Nursing. The program was initially funded in part by a four-year $730,000 W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant received in 2003 along with funds from Georgia State University. Currently the program is funded by the NC Department of Health and Human Services. The funds are used to maintain a school readiness program to provide academic support, health care and other assistance for families where grandparents are the primary caretakers of children.
Two years ago the grandparents created 13 hand-sewn quilts that were auctioned to benefit orphaned children who are victims of AIDS in Lesotho, Africa.
“Many of the grandparents who are making these quilts could very easily sell them to use the revenue for their own situations,” says Dr. Lenora Campbell, associate dean for the Division of Nursing and project director of WSSU’s Grandparenting program. “It’s inspiring how they look beyond their circumstances to help others they don’t know – whether for school supplies for children in another country or providing inspiration for the President of the United States.”
