Submitted Photo Quilters with the Minot Prairie Quilt Guild work on weighted blankets on June 22. The blankets will go to individuals with ADHD, PTSD, anxiety and other similar hardships.

A project spearheaded by Britni Kraft and Luanne Duchsherer, co-chairs of the Community Service program, brought 21 women from the Minot Prairie Quilt Guild together on June 22 to construct the first wave of weighted blankets for use by individuals with ADHD, PTSD, anxiety and other similar hardships as a means of comfort and security, according to Guild information.

(Weighted blankets are exactly what they sound like – they’re heavier blankets filled with a material and can help with a variety of health hardships.)

The day’s efforts produced approximately 50 blankets, with another 40-50 to be completed this summer for distribution to Headstart, Minot Public School, the Vet Center in Minot, First District Health and Dakota Boys & Girls Ranch as well as to the Williston school.

The Guild, a non-profit organization, is able to complete the project with the support of a grant from St. Joseph’s Community Foundation and a fundraiser conducted by Whitney Stephenson and Kelly Barnett as part of the Center for Business & Technology Women’s Leadership Class.

Since it’s inception in 1981, the Minot Prairie Quilt Guild has been conscious of the need to provide quilts to residents of the Minot community. The Community Service Committee is responsible for distributing charitable contributions in the form of quilts, weighted blankets and dog beds, which are handmade by guild members, to those in need in the Minot area as well as points across the state.

In 2018, a record 209 quilts and 151 pet beds were donated.

The quilts were donated to:

– Fargo and Minot VA Centers

– Trinity Home Health & Hospice

– Milton Young Towers

– Salvation Army

– Trinity NICU & Pediatrics

Dog beds were donated to:

– Souris Valley Humane Society

– Hairball Haven

– For Belle’s Sake Rescue.

Monetarily speaking, these combined donations amounted to $62,507.

Previously, the guild has also donated quilts to:

– Minot Homeless Coalition

– Domestic Violence Crises Center

-Red Cross

– Hope Clinic

– Trinity Cancer Care

-Men’s Winter Refuge

– Fargo Ronald McDonald House

– Edgewood

-American Legion

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Minot Guild, contact the Guild’s membership chairman at guildmembership@minotquilters.com or visit online at minotquilters.com, or on its Facebook Page under Minot Prairie Quilt Guild.