HOPS program to honor veterans with quilts at Wayne County Fair
For the second year, Honoring Our Patriots’ Service (HOPS) will present veterans with more than 75 handmade quilts and afghans in a ceremony at 2 p.m. Sept. 15 in the Coliseum Cattle Barn at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
In the inaugural ceremony last year, members presented more than 50 quilts and one dog bed (for a service dog) to veterans. Quilts this year will be presented to three WWII veterans.
Eight members of the Daughters of the American Revolution Wooster-Wayne chapter collaborated to generate a quilt, and the HOPS program founders hope more organizations and individuals will contribute in the years to come.
The HOPS program was inspired by the Quilts of Valor Foundation (QOV), a national organization that has awarded over 318,400 quilts to Veterans since its establishment in 2003.
Veteran honors program began with a dream
According to www.qovf.org, the idea of the foundation was born out of a dream QOV founder Catherine Roberts had while her son was deployed on active duty. In her dream, Roberts envisioned a haunted young man struggling to cope with the memories of war who then becomes enveloped in a quilt, providing comfort. QOV was a collaborative effort from the beginning- the quilts are often pieced (the process of cutting and sewing the various fabrics together to generate a pattern or design on the quilt top) by one volunteer and assembled and then quilted.
The HOPS program was founded by the Tree City Quilters’ Guild (TCQ) of Wooster. Each year the Tree City Quilters’ Guild set “challenges” for their members — a central theme that each quilter must interpret and follow while creating a quilt for the bi-annual quilt show.
The theme for the quilt show in April 2020 was America the Beautiful and a challenge was set for members to create a quilt for the QOV Foundation. The quilt show was canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tree City Quilters’ Guild members had generated around 30 quilts for QOV, but the presentation to veterans was put on hold.
Jeri Fickes had watched a program honoring veterans at the Stark County Fair. Operation Fostering Freedom is a program that honors Stark County veterans with a quilt, crocheted or knitted afghan or comforter in a ceremony held at the Stark County Fair. She wanted to bring a similar program to Wayne County.
Fickes and Vicky Hartzler consulted with Tim Ross, a Stark County Fair Board member who helped bring Operation Fostering Freedom to fruition. TCQ members Betty Boreman, Fickes and Hartzler proposed their idea for HOPS to the Wayne County Fair Board, and HOPS was established as a collaborative program between the Tree City Quilters’ Guild and the Wayne County Fair Board.
During the first HOPS ceremony, in 2021, members of the Tree City Quilters’ Guild presented 54 quilts and a dog bed to veterans during ceremony at the fairgrounds. This year, members of the public have been encouraged to participate in the HOPS program by generating quilts, afghans, comforters/blankets or dog beds.
The public is encouraged to nominate veterans for the HOPS program. Any veteran who is a resident of Wayne County is eligible. For more information email HOPSWooster@gmail.com.
All of the quilts and other items to be awarded this year will be on display at the Grange Rotunda at the Wayne County Fairgrounds until noon Thursday, Sept. 15. The presentation program will be hosted by Greg Long, a recipient of a HOPS quilt in 2021, and will include musical performances by Russ and Carole Norris. Guest speaker is Tom Ballinger.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Honoring Our Patriots’ Service to honor veterans at Wayne Fair
