…donating quilts and Dream Bags for foster children in Northeast Kansas including the counties of Atchison, Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte.
Effective December 2019, any quilter who wishes to donate to Project Warm Embrace youth/teenage size quilts (45″ x 60″ or larger) and/or corded Dream Bags contact:
Kansas Department for Children & Families
DCF Office for Johnson County
8915 Lenexa Drive Overland Park, KS 66214
913-826-7300
Attention: James Harmon for Project Warm Embrace
Include a Project Warm Embrace Donation Form with all donations delivered. Quilt construction guidelines and child safety requirements are explained on the Project Warm Embrace Donation Form. Please remove all animal hair and ALWAYS check for stray pins and needles before turning in your quilts.
In January 2018 the Starlight Quilters Guild (SQG) adopted Project Warm Embrace as a 2-year community service project. Thank you to the generosity of SQG members and many community quilters, the following donations were delivered to the Overland Park DCF Office:
2018 – 174 quilts, 603 Dream Bags and 37 pillowcases
2019 – 223 quilts, 237 Dream Bags and 6 pillowcases
Project Warm Embrace is a statewide partnership (established in 2008 in south central Kansas) between the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) partners and community quilters. In 2016, Project Warm Embrace expanded to Northeast Kansas to ensure that handmade quilts and fabric bags benefit the children in foster care in Johnson County and the surrounding counties of Atchison, Douglas, Leavenworth and Wyandotte. Learn about the history of Project Warm Embrace here.
When children come into the care of DCF, it is a time of insecurity and instability. Many times a child is given only 15 minutes to gather up their belongings when being removed from their home. They often leave with their possessions in a paper sack! Since children arrive with very few possessions, providing a colorful fabric bag during this traumatic time in their life sends an encouraging message letting each child know they are special and that someone cares about them. The Starlight Quilters Guild named these fabric bags “Dream Bags” after SQG member Susan Wagner shared the following quote by William Butler Yeats: “Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams, Unloose the cord, and they will wrap you round.”
Project Warm Embrace Dream Bag Pattern
Quilts and Dream Bags are distributed to Kansas children in foster care throughout the year and especially at Christmas time. KVC in Olathe Kansas is the agency that places children with foster parents and offers education classes for anyone interested in becoming a foster parent. KVC works in conjunction with the DCF offices in Northeast Kansas.
Quilt Donation Requirements:
- 45″ x 60″ or larger (twin size)
- Cotton, denim, or fleece
- Fabrics that are youth and teen friendly: NO seasonal fabrics
- Tied, hand quilted, or machine quilted
- NO embellishments as they may not be child safe
- NO puff paints
Thank you for caring about the foster children in Northeast Kansas by donating your beautiful handmade youth/teen friendly quilts and corded Dream Bags. A copy of the KVC Donation Form is provided as your donation receipt.
For all inquiries about Project Warm Embrace, contact:
James Harmon
Kansas City Region Administrator
Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Office for Douglas County
1901 Delaware
Lawrence, KS 66046
785-832-3860 or james.harmon@ks.gov
