FARMINGTON – Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services, Franklin County’s sexual assault crisis response project, is hosting a fundraising raffle for a queen-sized quilt entitled Yellow Brick Road. Raffle tickets are 1 for $1 or 6 for $5 and are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the SAVES office in the Holman House at 227 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Farmington. Tickets will also be sold at tables at various events, including Wilton’s Blueberry Festival, and outside Farmington’s Wal-Mart and Mickey’s Hallmark selectively throughout the summer.
The quilt was donated to SAVES by Susan Malen, an Alaska resident who supports SAVES. “Coming from the suburbs of Philadelphia, I saw a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish quilts, and I just admired the art and thought I’d give it a try,” Malen sad. In the 20 years Malen has been quilting, she has demonstrated a prolific production rate. “I have made over 100 quilts – many for non-profits to raffle,” she said.
The quilt, valued at $600, is machined-pieced. “The Yellow Brick Road pattern has become my favorite pattern as it gives me an opportunity to use a lot of my fabric ‘stash,’” Malen said of the quilt’s complex design.“ It has over 50 different fabrics in it. Yellow and red are my favorite colors so I made enough blocks in this color scheme to make 4 quilts.”
The winning raffle ticket will be drawn on August 31. Ticketholders need not be present to win, and the quilt is available to be shipped to the winner in case of distance. Ticket sales will benefit SAVES’ programs, including community and outreach education like worksite presentations and classroom discussions; the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), which works to create a collaborative community response to sexual violence; and the school-based program, which places an advocate in area high schools one day each per week during the school year for support and education.
To learn more about SAVES or to get involved, contact SAVES at 778-9522 or visit SAVES Web site at www.savesrapecrisis.org. If you would like information or support related to any type of sexual violence, please call our 24-hour confidential helpline at 1-800-871-7741. If you are a cell phone user in Franklin County, you may call 1-866-740-9516. TTY is available for the Deaf and hard of hearing at 1-800-458-5599.
