The Caring Quilters of Big Bend Hospice are a group of local quilters who have volunteered since the fall of 1999 to create wall hangings for the Hospice House and lap quilts for individual Big Bend Hospice patients.  Since then they have quilted and distributed more than 650 quilts.

On entering the Margaret Dozier Hospice House visitors immediately see the Caring Quilters’ first group project—the award-winning “Tree of Life,” a many-colored piece that hangs in the great room, depicting the tree that is the symbol of Big Bend Hospice.  Many others who have lost loved ones at the Hospice House experience the comfort and beauty of the Caring Quilters’ purple quilts. Specifically designed and dedicated for this purpose, a purple quilt is placed over the body of each patient after death and remains there while the family says their goodbyes. This simple ritual brings meaning and comfort to both families and staff members who have cared for the patients. Four purple quilts have been created with tender caring since 2001.

In addition to quilting lap quilts on an ongoing basis and making a yearly raffle quilt to raise funds for Big Bend Hospice patient care, the Caring Quilters have taken on other projects, including giving a quilt to each of the 50 children and teens who attended a BBH grief camp one year, designing an anniversary quilt for the agency’s 20th and making a memorial quilt for the Caring Tree, Big Bend Hospice’s children’s grief support program.

In 2003 the Caring Quilters were nominated by Big Bend Hospice and won a Volunteer of the Year award in the non-profit organization category. Their unique blend of compassion and creativity make the Caring Quilters a very special part of Big Bend Hospice.