Volunteer Staci Brown and Kat Merrick proudly display one of the quilts available for those affected by recent tragedies.
On December 4, 2017 the Thomas Fire and mudslides devastated Ventura and Montecito. Watching this devastation unfold the Ventura Modern Quilt Guild(MQG)
and “superbuzzy” Fabrics & Craft Supplies Store decided to help by creating quilts for those affected. To date 7 countries and 49 states responded by helping in the quilting efforts and over 400 quilts were delivered to the Modern Quilting Guilds headquarters in Ventura.
Seeing the need for help in distributing the quilts to those affected they contacted Kat Merrick Founder of Totally Local VC’s Local Love Project for help.
On Thursday, March 8, the Modern Quilting Guild, Mission San Buena Ventura, The Jewish Federation of Ventura County and Totally Local VC’s Local Love Project hosted a Pop Up Shop to distribute quilts along with other donated houseware items. The event took place in the Parish Hall at the Mission.
Besides the handmade quilts the Jewish Federation donated sheet sets, Totally Local VC’s Local Love Project donated many items as did FOOD Share.
Scott Griffin, Ventura MQG VP and Kelly Stevens, Ventura MQG founding member and owner of superbuzzy, each began projects to bring comfort and loving warmth to the fire and slide victims. As the fire spread northwards, these efforts were coordinated to answer the quilt needs of victims in both Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
When founder Kat Merrick created Totally Local VC (TotallyLocalVC.com) over 9 years ago she and her team made a solid commitment to our community. When she lost her home in the Thomas Fire her commitment to helping others became even stronger.
She stated “Our goal is to activate members of our community in the aftermath of a traumatic event within Ventura County and the 805 to provide relief and support to those affected by disaster or in a time of need. We work to solve immediate needs for those impacted by either a disaster in our community or those in need as well as provide the necessary items to help our neighbors as they work to restore their lives.”
