HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Our project is not just about making quilts. Making and displaying Welcome Quilts is a key and important form of resistance to negative ideas about immigrants, but this project can also act as a vehicle to facilitate investigation and reflection on the whole topic of immigration, leading to other forms of positive activism, examining our role as a welcoming nation.

A comprehensive, empathy based set of activities has been developed by Gale Hall for just this purpose and is included in a complete Toolkit along with directions for making Welcome Quilts.

These activities can be used to facilitate discussions in small groups while making quilt squares. Other variations of this ciriculum allow groups of children and adults to have a guided exploration of larger exhibits. Gale also wrote the book Lili’s Quilt: A Story of Immigration, Welcome, and Belonging, a companion to this project with additional activity and discussion ideas.

Here are a few ways to become involved in this project. People around the country are finding their own creative ways to become part of this movement for social change. How could you bring this idea to your community?

1) MAKE A WELCOME QUILT & FIND A PLACE TO DISPLAY IT.

Get some friends and neighbors together to make welcome squares and ask a quilter to help. Even one Welcome Quilt can have a big impact. Utilize our group discussions idea while making squares. Find a way to make it visible to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in your community. Download how to make the squares, quilts and a variety of curriculum plans in the Toolkit.

Drawing one or more welcome squares and sending them to The Welcome Quilt Project is an important contribution. It can help us create more quilts to loan out for exhibits or send to places like the Haitian Community in Springfield.

No art skill is required!
Get the full instructions in the toolkit.

4) BECOME A VOLUNTEER QUILTER

2) UTILIZE THE EMPATHY BASED CURRICULUM

The empathy based curriculum has several variations depending on who will participate. In Arizona the curriculum met the
K-12 requirements, Tuscon schools were able to organize field trips to the Arizona History Museum to tour the exhibit and participate in the program. You can also bring the curriculum right into classrooms. Lili’s Quilt is a children’s book about forced migration (written by Gale Hall and Illustrated by Michelina Nicotera-Taxiera ). It can be used as an integral part of the curriculum in multiple settings, even with adults. Lili’s Quilt follows the journey of Lili and her mother as they leave their home in Central America and travel to the United States seeking safety. Learn how Lili’s difficult journey was transformed by the welcome she received and how the gift of a quilt renewed her hope.

Curriculum and activities information is available in the Toolkit. Lili’s Quilt can be ordered from Amazon.

3) MAKE WELCOME SQUARES TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROJECT

Set up a Welcome Square making table at a variety of different community events and venues in your area
READ MORE

Plan a “Welcome Quilt Week” at your place of worship
READ MORE

Carry Welcome Quilts in parades in your community and display them at public events including local protests
READ MORE

Plan an event at a detention center in your area.
READ MORE

6) BUILD YOUR OWN EXHIBIT!

HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:

Make and send Welcome Quilts to specific communities impacted by immigration policies such as Springfield, Ohio and Los Angeles, CA in response to local events. READ MORE

Make a Welcome Quilt for and by your place of business.
READ MORE

Plan a Summer Camp or Spring Break experience about immigration and incorporate the Welcome Quilt curriculum into the week’s activities READ MORE

Bring the Welcome Quilt Project curriculum to your school system or After-School program READ MORE

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WHAT THE FABRICS IN THE QUILTS REPRESENT

The fabric used in the quilts was chosen intentionally after studying the stories that children told in their
artwork at the Casa Alitas Welcome Center regarding their migration journeys and what they love.

COLORS

TURQUOISE
Represents the sky that covers both their country of origin and their new home

YELLOW
Represents the sun that greets our days.

RED
Represents the flame of faith in the hearts of people who immigrate, as it continues in their new homes.

PATTERNS

TWINKLING STAR FABRIC - Represents the stars that guide us at night.

COLORFUL CIRCLE FABRIC - Represents the beauty of the world all around us.

BUTTERFLIES - A traditional image of migration now in use to distinguish Welcome Quilts because people come to the US from all over the world.

LADY OF GUADALUPE - Located in the upper left corner of the original Welcome Quilts, first used when there were many from Latin America migrating to the US, the image represents the cultural identity of many from that region and is easily identified.

DRAWINGS AND COMMENTS - These are all messages of encouragement and love from people all over the United States to our newest guests.

5) BRING THE AZ HISTORY MUSEUM EXHIBIT TO YOUR TOWN