Louisville sewing society sews quilts to raise money for St. Joseph Children's Home

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For more than a century, volunteers have been giving kids at the St. Joseph's Children's home something to call their own.

The St. Joseph Ladies Sewing Society began in the early 1900s when women volunteered their time to make clothing for the orphans at the St. Joseph Children's Home. Today, the group members use their time to make and donate quilts and blankets. Over the past 100 years, they've raised more than $2 million for the non-profit organization.

Each of the quilts are pieced together by women like Patrice Hayes.

"We try to do bright colors, pastels," Hayes said. "It's a lot of fun. It's a lovely group of people to be with."

Women from the St. Joseph Ladies Sewing Society sew quilts for the St. Joseph Children's Home. (Photo by: Molly Jett / WDRB)

Many of the blankets will be given to residents of the home.

"The different kids will see them around, and they'll just come up and go, 'Oh, are you all the ladies that make the blankets?'" Hayes said. "We're like, 'Yeah, they are!' That's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and just makes it feel real good."

Patrice Flynn agrees.

"A lot of the children come in and have nothing, so we just make that so they have something to call their own," she said.

Pat Clark, another member of the society, said it's important to donate to St. Joseph Children's Home.

"I like St. Joe's because of what they do for children in our community," she said. "They take care of the worst of the worst in the state of Kentucky. In addition to that, the I admire their foster care and adoption program, as well as their child development center. And I feel that all of those are important services that St. Joe's gives to our community."

The quilts are also donated to raise money in the organization's annual August fundraiser.

"We've had a lot of parents come up to us at the quilt booth and say, 'I adopted children,' and, you know, 'I have that hanging on the wall,'" said Flynn. "And it's really special, and it's special to use to be able to make it and give it to them."

This year's St. Joe's Picnic fundraiser is still be tallied, but Tiffany White, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph Children's Home, said the group is feeling really accomplished.

"It's wonderful when you have a group of people coming together, working toward this common goal of the children that we serve," she said.

Some of the quilts take months to stitch together. The ones that go to adoptees have the St. Joe logo, the child's name and the adoption date. Others are just filled with color.

Hayes said sewing quilts, "makes us feel good."

"It's a lot of fun to be here, and it's worthwhile work," Hayes added.

Over the years, hundreds of women have been part of the society, donating their Mondays and Wednesdays to children.

"They are very talented and generous with their time and talent," Clark said.

The group is always looking for volunteers -- and knowing how to sew is not a requirement. They'll teach you. If you're interested in volunteering, click here.