KCSD Gives To Quilt Group For Mothers Of Fallen Officers
September 14, 2016 at 5:57 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The Bradways founded “A Quilt for Mother’s Tears” in honor of their son, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Rod Bradway, a 1991 NorthWood High School graduate, who was killed in the line of duty Sept. 20, 2013.
The project is designed especially for mothers of fallen officers lost in the line of duty nationwide.
The Bradways live five miles south of Nappanee in Kosciusko County.
On Tuesday, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department donated $500 to A Quilt for Mother’s Tears for a quilt to be auctioned at 1 p.m. Oct. 1 at the non-profit organization’s annual fundraiser at Pike Performing Art Center, Indianapolis, Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine indicated.
The money came from the commissary account, which is from inmates and not tax dollars.
“A Quilt for Mother’s Tears” is a tax-exempt foundation, and relies on donations to provide services to friends and families of law enforcement. Its mission is to help comfort the mothers of police officers killed in the line of duty by creating quilts to honor the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, according to information provided by the foundation.
Each May, the quilts are presented to mothers of fallen officers at National Police Week in Washington, D.C. On average, more than 100 officers are killed in the line of duty each year, with 118 officers killed in 2014, the information said.
Sheri said they started the organization in 2014 and by the end of this year will have sewn more than 300 quilts. While they try to present them during National Police Week, Tom said they do present some quilts at other times to mothers.
The design of each quilt remains the same, and each quilt includes the officer’s information in the center, Sheri said.
Pieces and quilts are sewn and put together all over the U.S. A quilt coordinator organizes a quilt when an officer dies. Sheri will put the kit together, ship it to a quilter and when it’s all done, it goes into a bag to present to the mother. Sheri writes a letter to the recipient.
“In 2014, I gave a quilt to a mother who had a son die, and now she helps quilt,” Sheri said. “It helps me remember Rod and honor him and all his brothers and sisters. When they put their uniform on, they are all brothers and sisters.”
Everything sewn on the quilt has meaning. The two red stars and crosses represent the families and communities the officer serve. The thin blue line is for the police officers who stand against evil.
Generally, if the quilt has to be shipped back and forth, Sheri said, it can take a month to put together. When she does one, she said she usually can finish it in a week.
“It’s all quilted differently because each quilter sees a different way to do it, but the pattern is all the same,” Sheri said.
“We started a foundation and this is the work for that to honor our son,” Tom said, adding that the organization is working to provide scholarships and other things for officers’ families.
For more information on the organization, visit the website at www.aquiltformotherstears.org
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The Bradways founded “A Quilt for Mother’s Tears” in honor of their son, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Rod Bradway, a 1991 NorthWood High School graduate, who was killed in the line of duty Sept. 20, 2013.
The project is designed especially for mothers of fallen officers lost in the line of duty nationwide.
The Bradways live five miles south of Nappanee in Kosciusko County.
On Tuesday, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department donated $500 to A Quilt for Mother’s Tears for a quilt to be auctioned at 1 p.m. Oct. 1 at the non-profit organization’s annual fundraiser at Pike Performing Art Center, Indianapolis, Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine indicated.
The money came from the commissary account, which is from inmates and not tax dollars.
“A Quilt for Mother’s Tears” is a tax-exempt foundation, and relies on donations to provide services to friends and families of law enforcement. Its mission is to help comfort the mothers of police officers killed in the line of duty by creating quilts to honor the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, according to information provided by the foundation.
Each May, the quilts are presented to mothers of fallen officers at National Police Week in Washington, D.C. On average, more than 100 officers are killed in the line of duty each year, with 118 officers killed in 2014, the information said.
Sheri said they started the organization in 2014 and by the end of this year will have sewn more than 300 quilts. While they try to present them during National Police Week, Tom said they do present some quilts at other times to mothers.
The design of each quilt remains the same, and each quilt includes the officer’s information in the center, Sheri said.
Pieces and quilts are sewn and put together all over the U.S. A quilt coordinator organizes a quilt when an officer dies. Sheri will put the kit together, ship it to a quilter and when it’s all done, it goes into a bag to present to the mother. Sheri writes a letter to the recipient.
“In 2014, I gave a quilt to a mother who had a son die, and now she helps quilt,” Sheri said. “It helps me remember Rod and honor him and all his brothers and sisters. When they put their uniform on, they are all brothers and sisters.”
Everything sewn on the quilt has meaning. The two red stars and crosses represent the families and communities the officer serve. The thin blue line is for the police officers who stand against evil.
Generally, if the quilt has to be shipped back and forth, Sheri said, it can take a month to put together. When she does one, she said she usually can finish it in a week.
“It’s all quilted differently because each quilter sees a different way to do it, but the pattern is all the same,” Sheri said.
“We started a foundation and this is the work for that to honor our son,” Tom said, adding that the organization is working to provide scholarships and other things for officers’ families.
For more information on the organization, visit the website at www.aquiltformotherstears.org
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