'Quilts of Valor' to visit quilt museum Tuesday

Dozens of quilts from Nebraska and surrounding states made for the Quilts of Valor program will be displayed 1-4:30 p.m. June 9 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St.

The Nebraska stop is one in a cross-country mission to gather specially made quilts for members of the armed services. Quilts of Valor Across America is a journey to collect 1,200 quilts from across the country to be given to Marine and Navy corpsmen of 3/8 Battalion returning to Camp Lejeune, N.C., from Afghanistan. Early this month a group left Valley Springs, Calif., with pick-up destinations in Utah, Colorado, Missouri and Tennessee. It will reach Camp Lejeune June 12.

A volunteering veteran, Gail Belmont, QOV operations director, is driving the van and trailer from northern California and will be joined in caravan in Denver by the Quilts of Valor chairperson Catherine Roberts. They will be met in Lincoln by local American Legion Riders, a motorcycle group formed to show respect for service members and their families. The Riders will escort the caravan to the International Quilt Study Center and Museum where they will be greeted by local QOV volunteers and presented with 85 quilts from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and South Dakota. Sara Kenny of Eagle, an Army and Air Force mother, and Julia Schroeder of Lincoln, have coordinated the regional collection of QOV quilts.

This is one of many projects coordinated by the Quilts of Valor Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to "cover our wounded soldiers, sailors and Marines one quilt at a time." Since its founding, about 23,000 donated quilts have been presented to service members. More information about the program is available at www.qovf.org.

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit www.quiltstudy.org or call (402) 472-6549.