Quota Cares Month—Top Winner
Quota International of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada

Members of the Weyburn Quota club put their hearts into a service project this year. Inspired by 2004-2005 International President Nicôl Lea's theme, "Share Quota's Heart Around the World," members of the club made and distributed "comfort hearts." These hand-stitched, heart-shaped cushions were given to recovering breast cancer patients at Weyburn General Hospital. Slipped under patient arms after surgery, they promote healing and make post-operative recovery more comfortable by supporting the arm and keeping it away from the surgical site.

To raise money for the materials, The Weyburn club held a "Just Desserts" raffle every week for 26 weeks. Each week, a lucky winner received a delicious treat baked by a club member, and by the end of the raffle, Weyburn Quota had raised $1,400 for the hearts, which are just $2 apiece.

Though the hearts were inexpensive to produce, they went a long way for both patients and club members, who had a good time when they gathered to cut out material and sew the cushions together. Once finished, they wrapped the hearts in cellophane and labeled them with Nicôl Lea's theme.

The Weyburn Club has reaped the benefits of this "heart-felt" project. Newspaper publicity and radio stories have sparked an interest in the community and led to the installation of two new members. New and old members will keep their hands busy, donating hearts not only to breast cancer survivors, but also those who have had open-heart surgery. By offering emotional and physical comfort from the heart, the club has helped others and strengthened its own community.

To read or print the club's winning application, click here*.

Back to Quota Cares Month Winners Main Page>>>

*To view or print out these documents, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to go to Adobe's Web site and download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.