February 23, 2007

Exhibit follows quilts from Tennessee to Tibet, and beyond

Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register

When Aquinas College alumna Judith Meeker sent a few quilts made by her fourth grade students at Granberry Elementary School to children in Kabul, Afghanistan, shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, she never expected the gesture to spawn a worldwide network of friends dedicated to peacemaking through education and quilting.

In the last five years, Meeker and her organization, More than Warmth, have sent more than 900 quilts to schools, orphanages, medical clinics and community centers in more than 20 countries.

In honor of Arts Education Month this March, some of these quilts, and the photographs that document their journeys, will be displayed at the Tennessee Arts Commission gallery in downtown Nashville.

Quilts and blankets “are not enough to solve all the problems in the world, but it’s a comfort to the kids to know that they’re doing something to help,” Meeker said. Since 2002, she has helped thousands of Tennessee school children reach out to people in some of the poorest and most oppressed corners of the globe.

Meeker, a longtime quilter and peace activist, started the project to encourage discussion about current events and engage her students in a hands-on classroom activity. She wanted to convey to her students that, “we aren’t going to hate these people who are suffering,” she said of the Afghan people, who have endured decades of war and violence. “We can hate the system, not the people.”

After sending the first batch of quilts to Afghanistan in early 2002, the network of people who wanted to give and receive quilts began to grow. Meeker soon quit her teaching job at Granberry to focus all her time on More than Warmth.

“It takes a lot of energy and people to make and deliver these quilts,” she said, noting that she tries to have someone hand deliver them whenever possible.

Meeker has worked with many public, private, and even a few Catholic schools over the years, including St. Patrick School in McEwen and the teacher education program at Aquinas College. “I would love to make quilts in more Catholic schools,” she said.

Making a quilt involves more than just drawing and stitching. More than Warmth is “a forum allowing American students a place to process international events,” according to the organization’s mission statement. “While helping to create a growing awareness of world cultures, students also learn about regions of strife and conflict in the world.”

Each quilt project starts with a lesson and discussion about geography, social studies and current global issues. Students are asked to draw a design for the quilt that is non-violent, non-political and non-religious, and to write a letter to the people who will be receiving the quilt. While the quilts, and their messages of peace and hope, physically warm the recipients, it is often the letters that are the most touching, Meeker said. “A little act of kindness can be so healing for people.”

To learn more, visit the website www.morethanwarmth.org or call Judith Meeker at (615) 799-2782.

PHOTO: Dominican Sisters in the teacher education program at Aquinas College display a quilt they made as part of the More than Warmth project. Quilts made by Tennessee students and teachers will be on display at the Tennessee Arts Commission for the next month.