The basketball court and one full seating section of the Delta Center were transformed into a giant checkerboard of many colors recently as Delta Airlines presented Primary Children's Medical Center with 1,175 handmade quilts.
The quilts were part of Delta's "A Quilt for Every Bed" campaign that seeks to help PCMC with its desire to have a handmade quilt on each bed and to have quilts on hand to send home with critically ill patients.
"It is a huge contribution, more than just the quilt," said Sharon Goodrich, director of annual and corporate giving at PCMC. "It is the love that these people have put into these quilts. I think that's an extraordinary thing. For a child not feeling well and away from home and scared, that child will have something that will help them feel comforted."
The quilts are made all year by Delta employees or people associated with Delta. A quilting frame is set up in the employee lounge area of Delta's hub at the Salt Lake City International Airport with material and batting also stocked there. Employees from all over the country work on the quilts while between destinations. Others donate money or material.
Cindy Atkinson, service manager for Salt Lake City In-Flight, who heads the project, is impressed by the sheer number of people who participate in the project.
One flight attendant's mother and grandmother, 75 and 92 respectively, who are both in a nursing home in Minneapolis, did 75 receiving blankets. A local Boy Scout did 13 on his own for his Eagle Scout project, while a Park City school group did 27 as part of a school requirement to participate in community service. Several church groups have also chipped in.
"It's amazing how many people have heard about (this project)," Atkinson said. "The program itself is pretty spectacular."
Kevin Scott, general manager of Salt Lake City In-Flight service, said this year the project is especially significant for Delta.
"I think it has a little different meaning because of the challenges we've been facing," he said. "From a community standpoint it's even more worthwhile this year than in other years because we didn't have as many challenges (then). We can show that Delta people are still standing up to give service."
Parents who have been recipients of the quilts appreciate the time and effort put into them.
At the quilt presentation ceremony, Karen Ellis of Salt Lake City related how a quilt became precious to her son, who spent several months after he was born in PCMC and was admitted to the hospital multiple times before succumbing to pneumonia at the age of 2. A year later Ellis had her second son, and the blanket became his most beloved possession, which Ellis enjoyed as she felt it was a tie between her two children.
"I would personally like to thank everyone who has worked on the quilts," she said.
Atkinson figures Delta has completed about 4,400 quilts in the six years it has been doing the project.
"From the first year the response was wonderful because each (Delta employee) could contribute a few minutes. The response was so great that we kept on doing it," she said. "It's interesting to see how a community service project can grow."
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com