Follow the Wings Of Love - a non profit organization

Wings of Love - Anniversary Update

It is coming up on the second anniversary of the creation of the first pair of Wings of Love (February 2006 for Sharon Geisler). It wasn’t until later in the Spring of 2006 that we really started sewing and into the summer before the International Association of Touchers was officially formed.

You may ask what have we accomplished in two short years. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you.

We have introduced the Wings of Love to the world – literally. The wings have taken off and landed in Africa, Australia, Canada, India, Germany, Japan, and all over the USA. Not bad for a few ladies on a mission.

I’ve tried to keep the website current, but without you folks reporting back to me it’s hard to tell where else the wings have landed. So please take a few minutes to send me an email with your updates. (pegquallen@cinci.rr.com or Wingsoflove@cinci.rr.com)

Here’s mine:

Year Wing Maker Location Wings Patterns

2006 Peg Quallen Cincinnati/Newtown Ohio 254 15

2007 Peg Quallen Cincinnati/Newtown Ohio 618 47

2008 Peg Quallen Cincinnati/Newtown Ohio 56 1

2006 Betty Jane Dziech Deer Park/Cincinnati Ohio 3

2007 Betty Jane Dziech Deer Park/Cincinnati Ohio 21

2006 Carolyn Thullen Cincinnati/Newtown Ohio 6

2007 Carolyn Thullen Cincinnati/Newtown Ohio 6

2008 Carolyn Thullen Cincinnati/Newtown Ohio 2

2006 Jenny Wern             Lake Havasu City AZ          ?       16

2007 Jenny Wern             Lake Havasu Ciry AZ          ?

2008 Jenny Wern             Lake Havasu City AZ          2

2006 Barbara Timmers Cincinnati/Amelia Ohio 10

2007 Barbara Timmers Cincinnati/Amelia Ohio 8

Thanks to everyone who has participated in the making and distribution of the Wings of Love – you have helped share the love and comfort needed by us all. God Bless you.

Peg

More Wings on way to Africa

More wings of love have left with several volunteers going to Mamelodi, Africa. Crossroads church has left for their winter mission trip to Africa and the girls were very excited to be taking wings to once again hand out.
There will be another trip in the fall and they want to gather some more wings to take with them. They are hoping to take some more adult wings so anyone willing to make a pair or donate material let me or Peg know.
And thanks Peg for making all the wings that went on this trip!! Tamie

Prayers for Lucy

My brother and sister-in-law have good friends who's 5 year old, Lucy, was just diagnosed with leukemia. I have sent a cute pair of wings Peg made with flowers and Sesame street characters on it for her along with a prayer card. She is in Children's Hospital in Cincinnati and Jenn told me her mom would really like to get lot's of people praying for her. So say your prayers for Lucy. Thanks, Tamie

Hospice of Havasu Volunteers get Wings at Graduation

During the hospice volunteer training graduation ceremony on June 27, 2007, the graduating class received their very own set of Wings of Love. These Wings were made by several Lake Havasu City Wing Making Volunteers including Jenny, Janice and Barbara.

Photos of the Wings are in the web site photo gallery under the category Hospice Volunteers - LHC, AZ.

Plans are in the works to start a sewing group to make Wings for the Hospice clients in the future.

Donations of fabric for Hospice patient Wings can be dropped off at the Hospice of Havasu office, attention Mary.

Mary Makes 53 Pairs of Wings

Mary C. read the article about Peg and the Wings of Love in the Cincinnati Enquirer on January 29th. She called and talked to Peg and requested a pattern. Peg invited Mary to join her at the Project Linus Make a Blanket Day that was being held in Mary’s neighborhood so they could meet each other. Peg reminded Mary to keep track of all the wings and recipients so it could posted to the website.

On June 16th Peg received a note and list of 53 names and addresses of the people Mary had made wings for. Here is the content of her note:

Hello Peg!

For a few months this year I was really sewing “up a storm”, here are the names of the people that I gave them to so far.

These past few weeks have not been sewing weeks for me. Maybe I will get “in the groove’ again after summer is over.

My stash of material is running short and some of my enthusiasm is too.

My Best to you,

Mary C.

Wings going to Africa

Last week several nurses from Mercy Hospital Anderson gathered to make wings so that Sue and Kris, two of my coworkers in the maternity unit, could take them to Mamelodi, South Afirca. They are going on a mission trip with their church, Crossroads, at the end of June. Along with the many wings that Peg made for us they will have well over 30 wings to take and give away on their trip. We had a lot of fun making them and hope they will bring comfort to those who receive them. Sue and Kris, we wish you a safe and fulfilling trip, God Bless. Hopefully I will get a picture of us with the wings on the website and Sue promises to take pictures on her trip!
Tamie

Jenny's Letter to the Editor in Today's News Herald

Dear Editor,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to send this, or if you have another section of the paper that is more appropriate, but this is what I want the Lake Havasu City Community to know. Publish it however, just let them know.

I want to express my overwhelming gratitude to all those who helped make the Wings of Love Project such a success at the Relay for Life event. It took the entire Community to make my vision come true. It did come through beautifully over this past weekend at the Relay Event.

First, I want to say to the survivors and caregivers who participated "Thank You for having the courage and strength to attend, for accepting our gift to you without fear, and for showing me that love really does conquer all."

Next, I want to express my sincere thanks to Home Depot who donated the design and the buckets, concrete and clothesline materials for the portable clothesline that was used to hang the Wings of Love to display them for the recipients to be able to see the choices they had so they could find "their Wings". And to my friends, Richard Shannahan, who mixed the concrete and set the poles, and George Schneller and Ed Alvo, who constructed it on site, "Well done!" The clothesline will be used in the future by the LH Unified School District to display students¹ works of art.

Then, to Natural Tease, who silk screened the special verse that goes with each pair of Wings which made it easier to include the message, "Bless you for helping again and again and again." Without the donation of the silk screening I would have needed to find more volunteers to help with creating the note cards to attach.

And, the women who volunteered to help me sew, "I could never have produced enough Wings on my own, together we made over 150 pairs of Wings in less than one year. I am forever indebted to you. You Rock!"

And to all the other members of the community who donated time, cash, prizes or who bought raffle tickets that funded the purchase of the fabric to make the Wings. "Together we made a beautiful thing; we shared the love and passed it on!"

Please visit the Wings of Love website at www.followthewingsoflove.com <http://www.followthewingsoflove.com/> . Share how you were a part of this huge undertaking. Enter a Testimonial. Find the photo of the Wings you selected and write a comment about what they mean to you. Or, take a photo of you wearing the Wings and upload it yourself. Tell the world how you were a part of this momentous event.

Thanks, I feel blessed to have encountered all of you during the process of this project.

Jenny Wern

Wing Maker Passes in LHC, AZ

One of the first volunteers to help sew the Wings of Love for the LHC Relay for Life event lost her own battle with cancer. Annie Cole made several Wings before she had to give up her volunteerism to concentrate on her own battle. Annie passed on Friday, April 27, 2007, just one week after the Wings she made for others were distributed to the cancer survivors and attending children during the Relay event on April 20-21, 2007.

You did a great thing Annie, you will be missed! Share the love and pass it on.

LHC Relay a HUGE Success!!!

The event I was planning for about one year finally took place, just as I had imagined it would. Last night more than 100 participants in the Lake Havasu City Relay for Life event walked the gauntlet of Wings and found their Wings.

I had never felt such an outpouring of love as I felt on that high school track as total strangers hugged with such sincerity that the love flowed between them effortlessly.

I will try to get the balance of the Wings photos uploaded so that the cancer survivors and the children who were there in support of their loved ones can locate an image of the Wings they claimed as their own. I’m sure there will be many testimonials from the recipients in the coming days, weeks and even months, as they begin to confirm what I have always known, you can really “feel” the power of love when wrapped in the wings of an angel.

Many thanks to all of those who helped make my dream become a reality. I could never have pulled off such a fete if not for the unselfish generosity of time, money and unconditional love of the many volunteers and other contributors. Thank you, you know who you are.

Special thanks to Peter Schuman. Peter has given of his skills to produce a video of the making of the Wings and results of this labor of love. I will do my best to make sure you get the chance to view this when it becomes available. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even see it on the Orpah show!

Show & Tell at Jenny's in LHC April 7th, '07

With the Relay for Life event taking place in LHC, AZ on April 20th & 21st, it is important that we determine how many Wings we have prepared and if we will need to make a big sewing push to finish enough Wings for every cancer survivor who attends to get their wings at the event.

So, Jenny will be hosting another opportunity to meet the other people who sew and drop off completed wings and pick up more fabric if you want to continue sewing. Stop by Jenny's house on Sat., April 7 between 10 am and noon.

It would be nice to get a group photo taken to put on the website too.

Contact Jenny to let her know if you will be attending or not.

The current count stands at 54 adult wings completed and 37 youth (at best guess).

Please bring your ideas and experiences to share.