At-risk children received 43 quilts last week, a gift from Friendship Quilters, Fabric Artists.

The donation was accepted by Katie Vasquez of Family Support Resources in Phoenix, which provides emergency and longer-term care for children of all ages up to 18-years-old.

“We get new kids all the time,” Vasquez said. The organization has 130 beds and serves about 300 children in a year. “They come in and pick out a quilt so they have a personal item all their own. They get to keep it when they leave.”

Family Support Resources is a long-time favorite of the charitable quilters, who meet and sew in a club room at Bell Recreation Center in Sun City.

“We’ve given hundreds of quilts to the children at Family Support Resources during the past decade or longer,” said Marlene Lucas of Sun City. “Katie told us some years back how the bright colors of our quilts brighten the rooms of the children. I always call up that mental picture when I’m making a quilt for them.

“Quilts have a special coziness factor. Almost everyone can remember a grandmother or aunt who made quilts and they will smile when they mention those great ladies to us when visiting the club. Quilts also have the super power of doubling as a tent when draped over a table or chairs.”

The quilters cover their expenses for making the quilts mainly through boutique sales in their club room and the annual Fall Craft Festival in Sun City. They also accept donations of fabric.

The quilting club is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

For those who would like to directly help children at Family Support Resources, there is a need for backpacks, luggage and duffle bags in good condition. The children arrive with nothing and need something, other than trash bags, to carry their possessions when they move on to foster homes or return to their homes. Contact Vasquez at 623-931-9300, ext. 300.