Newly elected Wheeling Township Supervisor Maria Zeller Brauer is learning quickly just how generous the Northwest suburban community is. Donations come in every day, especially for its food pantry, including non-perishable food items and fresh produce from residents’ gardens.
Volunteers wort donations to the Wheeling Township food pantry.
But recently, a unique donation arrived at the township offices: 12 handmade quilts, stitched and hand-tied by Jean Johnson of Wheeling.
“Each quilt is a true work of art, crafted with care and kindness,” Zeller Brauer says. “All of them will bring warmth and comfort to community members in need who are served by Wheeling Township.”
Specifically, Zeller Brauer says the quilts will be given to some of the homebound seniors who receive meals on wheels. It’s a valuable service in the community and offers food and companionship to those in need. In April alone, 160 volunteers delivered 652 hot meals and 285 cold meals to 37 individuals, Zeller Brauer says.
Recipients pay for the meals — which are prepared at the Lutheran Home — but at a greatly reduced price. Visiting with the volunteers might be the only interaction they have, Zeller Brauer adds, and now, receiving a handmade quilt will really brighten their day.
“As someone who has worked with donations for many years, to provide something that is new — rather than used — and handmade, makes the recipient feel special,” she says.
This was a first time donation from Johnson to Wheeling Township, though she has been donating quilts for many years. At first, she donated quilts to Deborah’s Place, Chicago’s largest provider of supportive housing for women experiencing homelessness. The agency recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, by celebrating 40 years of impact.
In recent years, she also donated quilts to the Orchard Church in Arlington Heights for one of its ministry partners in Bosnia. 
Johnson says she has been quilting for 50 years. She started by taking classes at local high schools and she loved it so much, she set up a sewing room in her basement and an adjoining room to spread out the quilt as she hand ties them. All her friends know she quilts and consequently they donate all the fabric. Others, who don’t sew, donate sheets for the backing.
She began by creating quilts for her own home and next she donated them to family members, but now she has extended her reach.
“I like to do what I can for those less fortunate than I am,” Johnson says. “It warms my heart to know that I brought warmth and beauty to their lives.”
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