Connie Voss and other volunteers make lap quilts and donate them to the residents of Gridley Post Acute. From left are Connie Voss; Sarah Boesen, marketing director; and Sharla Ehorn, activities director. Photo by Cindy Scott

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Residents at Gridley Post Acute, the assisted-living facility behind Orchard Hospital, have benefitted from the generosity of the community this holiday season. They have received a variety of donations that allowed Sharla Ehorn, activities director, to create Christmas gift bags for each of the residents.

Among those donations were lap quilts, an on-going project led by Connie Voss. Voss began making quilts after her husband died in 2020, and donated the quilts to the local Camp Fire distribution center led by Lynne Spencer and also to other charities. 

That first Christmas after her husband’s passing, she and her family completed a quilt and delivered it to the care facility on Christmas Day. Voss and her family said that if they couldn’t give presents to Grandpa, they would give a gift to someone else’s grandpa. Covid restrictions were still in place at that time, so they weren’t able to meet with the quilt recipient. Later, they heard from staff that he enjoyed the quilt.

Voss welcomes volunteers who would like to help make the quilts at the weekly quilting sessions. For upcoming quilts, they will use Valentine and spring-themed fabrics. They donate the quilts to Gridley Post Acute, Children’s Hope and Caring for Women.

Voss collects fabric and other donations and, with the help of volunteers, makes a variety of quilts for Post Acute residents. She also finds fabric at local and area thrift stores. Voss uses quilt batting, and crochet thread size 3 for tying the quilts. She is grateful for past donations. Anyone interested in donating materials to the project can contact her at 530-353-5349.