As Christmas draws nearer, local quilters have joined forces to create their annual Christmas Quilt Raffle for local charity Our Kids. 

Quilts for Kids is a local group of quilting enthusiasts who make handmade quilts for children and babies in the Children’s Ward and Special Care Nursery at Lismore Base Hospital.  

Each year the Quilts for Kids committee organises a handmade quilt to raffle off. 

One of the many volunteers with Quilts for Kids is Pam Dooner from Casino. Pam started quilting over 20 years ago after her then colleague, Carol Bonamy encouraged her to try her hand at it. From there, a quilting group was created and the pair have been making quilts for sick children, palliative care patients and mental health units.  

Carol was recently recognised for her quilting initiatives and received an Order of Australia for her service to the community. To date, over 1,500 quilts have been gifted to families within the Northern Rivers community. 

The proceeds of the raffle will be donated to Our Kids, the local charity which helps children stay local when needing medical care, by purchasing paediatric equipment for local hospitals. 

“Quilts for Kids gives our quilters across the region an avenue to use their quilts to help others and it is a joy to hear from the families who have received one of our quilts,” Pam Dooner said. 

This year, three quilts have been donated to Our Kids for the raffle, ‘An Aussie Christmas’ and ‘Toy Time’ both made by Pam Dooner and the third quilt ‘Heart for Lismore’ made by Leone Moffit.  

Raffle tickets are $5 each, with the raffle being drawn on 20 December. To purchase your ticket and support Our Kids click here.

If you are a keen quilter and would like to know more about Quilts for Kids, please contact quilts4kids@hotmail.com.