Quilts for Newborns

two women with quilts that they have made
Photography: 
Karen Simon

My daughter is a midwife who works as a locum in Nunavit, and when she mentioned this initiative, I immediately started to share it with my friends far and wide. I am pleased to say many quilts have been donated.

Pictured at the top of this page are Evelyn MacDonald and Mary Carroll, shown with the quilts that they made and donated. Do you quilt, or do you have a quilt you would like to donate? The ideal quilt for this project is 40”x46.”

Here is more information from One Plane Away about what they do (from their website):

“Nunavut has the highest birth rate in Canada. At 21.4% live births per 1,000 people in 2020, Nunavut’s birth rate is double the national average of 9.4%. The birth rate in Nunavut continues to grow at a faster rate than any other Canadian province or territory

Unfortunately, one of the most significant issues in Nunavut is lack of access. Nunavut consists of 25 fly-in only communities. This means that all supplies, including food, and baby supplies has to come in on the planes or if the community has water access, on the yearly sealift.

As you can imagine, essential baby items such as diapers, wipes, clothing, winter gear, etc. is very expensive and in limited supply. Ordering the supplies off of online shops is also not an option due to high shipping costs and some websites do not accept PO boxes as valid addresses, which is the only way we can receive our mail in the Territory.

One Plane Away’s primary objective is to help support Nunavut babies in need by giving them the clothing and supplies that are often unavailable or unattainable.”

If you would like to help, their Canada Helps page is: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/one-plane-away-donations/

You can also follow them on Facebook (search for “One Plane Away”). If you have a quilt to donate, it can be sent to:

One Plane Away
P.O. Box 2095
Iqaluit NU
X0A 0H0 

Thank you!

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