Quilt For A Cause News

Quilt for a Cause, Inc. will no longer be posting news regarding the organization on this page.  All information regarding our forthcoming  fundraisers and 2013 Silent/Live Auction will be on our website:  http://quiltforacause.org/ and our Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quilt-for-a-Cause/119872628072238.  LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our activities.

Once again…..Quilt for a Cause, Inc. has done it.  A whopping $113,000 was raised from donations, grants, and the sale of 284 beautiful quilts at their Silent/Live Auction held at the Tucson Medical Center on Saturday, October 3, 2009.  Although more than 600 quilters participated from 30 States and 3 Provinces of Canada, 90% of the quilts were donated by members of the Tucson Quilter’s Guild.

The proceeds from this year’s Auction were distributed between the Tucson Medical Center Foundation and St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary Clinic.  The Tucson Medical Center will be using a part of their portion to fund the Joel Childers Teaching Series ($35,000) for training OB/GYN doctors from around the country on the latest surgical procedures.  Another $10,000 will be spent on breast cancer screening for uninsured and underinsured women.  The remaining $46,000 will be spent on updating or purchasing equipment for TMC’s GYN state of the art surgical center.  St. Elizabeth’s of Hungary Clinic will be using their portion towards helping their patients with breast cancer procedures.

Over the past 6 years, three quilt auctions have taken place at TMC and more than a quarter of a million dollars have been raised for women’s cancers within the Tucson area.  The success of these auctions could not have been successful without the generousity of everyone involved.

Jeannie Coleman has been spotted on  Tucson’s KVOA  news spot “Making a Difference”.   You can see the video by clicking onto:  Jeannie on KVOA.  Once in the KVOA Video Center, scroll down to search and type in Quilt for a Cause.  After hitting Go, you will view Jeannie talking about quilts, our forthcoming Quilt for a Cause auction on October 3, 2009 at Tucson Medical Center and see a few donated quilts.

Quilt for a Cause Vice president, Carol Zupancic, not only leads in the quilting world but also on the tennis court.  This article on Carol appeared in U.S. Tennis Association Newsletter.

Southwest Player Remembers Sister Through Quilting

Monday, April 27, 2009 4:38 PM ET

Carol Zupancic © Jen Pottheiser

By J. Fred Sidhu

Surprise, Ariz. - When Carol Zupancic’s sister Janet passed away six years from cancer, she wanted to do something to remember her.

 So Zupancic, who plays for the USTA Southwest Section women’s 6.0 super senior team, became involved with Quilt For a Cause, a non-profit organization which auctions and sells handmade quilts donated by quilters to support breast and gynecologic cancer research.

The organization’s mission is to fund research, to further educate medical professionals who treat women with breast and/or gynecological cancers using state of the art equipment and new technology, and to raise awareness in women for prevention and detection of these cancers.

“People from all across the U.S. send us quilts,” said Zupancic, who helped her Southwest team on Tuesday morning to a 2-1 victory over a Southern Section wild card team in the 2008 USTA League 6.0 & 8.0 Super Senior National Championships at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.

“It’s a way for people to feel like they’re doing something,” said Zupancic, who serves on the Quilt For a Cause board of directors as vice-president and fund raising chair.

 Zupancic, a resident of Saddlebrooke, Ariz., spoke passionately about the letters filled with emotion that Quilt For a Cause receives when people donate quilts in memory of a loved one. She also said that the organization gives 99 percent of the funds raised to cancer research.

 According to Zupancic, Quilt for a Cause is preparing for it’s annual Silent and Live Auction of contemporary and traditional quilts which will take place on Oct. 3 at the Tucson Medical Center.

Carol & Evelyn in QFAC booth

What a weekend for Quilt for a Cause, Inc. at the Tucson Quilt Fiesta, 2009.  Carol Zupancic’s gorgeous booth design captivated the interest of show visitors.  Quilts made from the pattern “Scraphunter’s Star”, designed by Evelyn George, were showcased along with several donated quilts for the upcoming Silent/Live Auction on October 3, 2009 at the Tucson Medical Center.  With energizer bunny Carol’s enthusiasm and Evelyn George signing the Scraphunter’s pattern that she designed, close to 100 of the patterns sold within the first day.  A quick reprint was done with another 100 being sold the next two days.  The pattern is now into its fourth printing.  Catalina  Quilting has made kits from “Scraphunter’s Star” for shows at which they are vendors.

Lots of QFAC collectible pins and tickets to the Calendar Girls Fashion Shows were also sold.  Contact Dorothy Lee (info@quiltforacause.org) or Evelyn George (quilter4ever@cox.net) for patterns, Carol Zupancic (cdzup@wbhsi.net) for information on the Calendar Girls Fashion Shows, and Jeannie Coleman (auction@quiltforacause.org) for QFAC pins.

The Quilt for a Cause banner, designed by Jennie Jim, made its debut in the booth.  The banner will be prominently displayed at forthcoming events.

Thanks to the Tucson Quilters Guild for providing this space to Quilt for a Cause.

Scraphunter

Good news! The pattern for Evelyn George’s mystery quilt from our 2008 Mystery Retreat fundraiser is now available for $10.00. “Scraphunter’s Star” is available in five sizes (60″ x 60″, twin, short queen, long queen and king) and 20 new layouts. Of course, it is no longer a mystery. There are traditional instructions, fuller illustrations, and photos of the finished quilt. This easy, scrappy quilt is fat quarter friendly.

Thanks to Calamity Jain for design and graphic assistance, to John Sartin for the photographs, and to Reproductions Inc. for printing these patterns.  Thank you, Donata Pfisterer for a third printing of this pattern.  We are now in the 5th printing.

Patterns are available at Catalina Quilting, Quilter’s Market, Cactus Quilt Shop, and Quilters’ Desert Patch.  It is also available as a kit from Catalina Quilting.

Contact Dorothy Lee (info@quiltforacause.org) to purchase the pattern for $10.00 plus postage.

QFAC Calendar Girls for April

The first Calendar Girls Fashion Show was held on Saturday, February 28th at the Vista de la Montana United Methodist Church.  Close to 200 were in attendance at this unusual afternoon filled with fun and fashions including wearable quilts and garments representing every month of the year.

This show was created and directed by Board Member Carol Zupancic to raise money to help in the fight against women’s cancers.

Under the leadership of Karen Anderson, the Quilters II group from the Voyager RV Resort hosted the second Calendar Girls Fashion Show.  This event showcasing a fashion show, tea, sinfully wonderful dessert, and favors was held on Saturday, March 28th before a lively group of over 300 participants.  Guests included Mary Lou Levesque, one of QFAC’s 2009 Honorary co-chairpersons and Liz McMahon, Master of Ceremonies.  After the cat walk by the QFAC Board members, numerous raffle items contributed by members of the Quilters II, were given out. 

More than $5,000 was raised between the two shows to help in the fight against breast and gynecological cancers. 

Please call Carol Zupancic at (520) 825-6957 or e-mail her at outreach@quiltforacause.org to schedule a Calendar Girls Fashion Show.