By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – Quilts from all over the United States poured into Columbiana in early May for distribution in the tornado-torn areas of central Alabama. The members of the Columbiana Quilts for Kids chapter stepped up to the plate to be the bearers of soft, warm comfort to distressed children.

Agnes Pool, a member of the Columbiana Quilts for Kids club, said she received 190 quilts from Pennsylvania, the headquarters of Quilts for Kids, and the quilts came from all over the country.

“The total for this month was about 330 quilts,” Pool said. “We received 190 from Pennsylvania, and the rest came from Columbiana Quilts for Kids. We’re the only chapter in Alabama, so the quilts come from quilters all over Alabama.”

Pool and a handful of the Columbiana quilters teamed up to deliver the colorful quilts to children in need of comfort. The group divided and visited Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Cullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman and Druid City Hospital Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa.

Diane Corley took quilts to the medical center in Cullman, and was received with open arms.

“We made our way to the hospital and caught them by surprise,” Corley wrote in an email to Pool. “No one had brought anything to them over the past few weeks … They asked if we could leave 25 quilts, and they would spread them over the next few months.”

Judi Elliott, a resident of Shelby Shores, visited Tuscaloosa with her stack of 35 quilts.

“The devastation is shocking and far beyond belief — these people need our help and God’s peace and blessings,” Elliott wrote in an email. “I am grateful for the opportunity to deliver our sweet quilts so that several more little boys and girls can hold closely something of their very own that will give them comfort.

For more information about Quilts for Kids, visit Quiltsforkids.org.