Valiant Hearts' League

About Us

Our Mission

We started out making quilts, which involves a surprising amount of ironing, and yet works its way into your DNA in all the good ways. The satisfaction in finishing a quilt and then wrapping it around our veterans and first responders is an incredible feeling, especially when we are helping to relieve the impact of mental illness includin

You are welcome here! If you'd like to join us for a live or online event, or simply visit to see what we do, all you need to do is provide us with your email to receive an invitation. You are welcome to attend one event before you join as a member to see if we are a good fit for one another.
Members enjoy exclusive emails, online and in person events (we call them Needles of the Round), workshops, seminars, and more!

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Our Why

Our Mission

We are about much more than making quilts, even though that's a big part of what we do here. We provide support and empowerment initiatives for our volunteers to help them stay healthy, strong, and motivated, and to help connect our recipients to important services and community supports.

When mental illness interferes with veteran's and

When mental illness interferes with veteran's and first responder's ability to thrive, and contributes to them facing struggle in relationships and communities, and when they don't have access to treatment and therapy, we want to be there to offer support and compassion. We are proud to show people that they are appreciated, loved, and welcome in our group of compassionate quilters and makers.

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Legacy

Our Mission

Legacy

Not all that long ago, there were more than 12,000 teams spread across Canada as people quilted, knitted, preserved food, and made their way through the Second World War. Building on that legacy, the Valiant Hearts' League offer kindness and support through handmade quilts and comforts.

We make a point to commemorate inspiring Canadian

We make a point to commemorate inspiring Canadian women who laid a foundation of community support, including Margaret Eaton Burden Bishop and Ethel Mulvany, along with the thousands of women who organized Women’s Institutes and Auxiliary groups, guilds, clubs, groups, and chapters of all kinds. These women did whatever it took, including quilting using whatever materials they had available, collecting signatures for fundraising quilts, knitting, making jam, and more.

Canada has built a reputation of being built by volunteerism. There are very few programs and events here that get accomplished without the support of volunteers and patronage. Volunteers will go to great lengths to get the job done, sometimes ignoring important things in life like sleep, relationships, and breakfast! We feel like they need to be celebrated more often, and so we like to send things in the mail mail, buy a spool of thread, and we say thank you and I love you A LOT! And we mean it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us if you cannot find an answer to your question below.

How can I join or get involved?

We need help from all kinds of people to make these efforts work! Quilters, lots of quilters, knitters, and also people who can fund raise, organize events, spread the word, and just be good humans are welcome to become members and help us wrap quilts and comforts around our veterans and first responders.

Send us an email if you are thinking about starting a chapter in your locale, too.

How do I become a member?

Please fill out the contact form, and let us know your telephone number, the type of support you want to provide, and the category of membership you are interested in (member, annual patron, or lifetime patron). We will call you to welcome you and get acquainted, and send you an invoice you can pay online. You do not have to be a quilter or knitter to join, and we are planning activities and fun for our makers, and the people who don't make things but want to be part of the Valiant Hearts' League!

Do we have to make a specific pattern?

Our recipients love quilts and comforts that reflect Canadian themes, as well as the outdoors, hobbies, and nature. They also love colours, and all kinds of patterns. With this in mind, you can make practically any quilt pattern that you enjoy making! We ask that you use fabrics that reflect comfort, and also to be inclusive in what you select. Please be sure to avoid fabric that include images related to addictions including alcohol and drugs; avoid holiday symbols that don't reflect the meaning of these quilts, including religious holidays, religious symbols, and childhood themes.

It would be helpful for you to join in one of our online or in person events to help you get started.

Please keep in mind that you need to be a paid or lifetime member to be part of the League. Please don't let this stress you out: it's no different than paying for a subscription box, or joining a softball team, and it's way cheaper than joining a country club, plus we are going to thank you and reward you when you join!

If you are considering quilting for Valiant Hearts' League, please note the following:

-you need to become a member

-we appreciate quilts that are lap sized, no smaller thank 50 x 60 inches (after allowing for shrinkage) and no larger than 60 x 80 inches so that they don't overwhelm people's washing machines.

-please use only new 100 percent cotton materials for the top of quilts you donate, and note that batting may be cotton, cotton/poly, wool, etc. Backing fabric can be any new fabric you select, such as cotton, flannel, minky, cuddle, etc.

-quilts should be donated as "new" and "unwashed"

-if you are donating "tops" for us to quilt and finish, please submit your best work so our longarmers can properly finish your quilt. This means they need to be trimmed and pressed (you may also want to sew a line 1/8 inch from the fabric edge to stop it from fraying).

-knitting needs to be done with new yarns, and should be ready to gift when you donate it (tails threaded, trimmed, blocked, and dried). You are welcome to contact us to see what types of knitting are on the wishlist at the time you are preparing your needles.

Do I have to supply my own fabric?

We are making big efforts in fundraising so that you can make quilts from fabric we provide you with, however, it's a work in progress. We welcome you to join one of of our in person or online events to see where things are at currently. We aren't currently in a position to fundraise for yarn.

What is a Ranger Quilt™?

We make a special, limited edition quilt once or twice each year, called a Ranger Quilt™. During the 1990s, a member of Canada's military with the call sign Ranger was part of a very difficult overseas tour in the former Yugoslavia. We honour Ranger's memory and sacrifice by including a few special touches in each of the Ranger Quilts™.

Who Receives a Valiant Hearts' League quilt?

Our quilts are specifically designed to hug veteran and active military members and first responders. Given that so many military members can also be first responders within the military, and that they can retire from the military and then go to work as first responders, there is already a relationship there. In addition, people who work as first responders are constantly exposed to traumatic situations and certainly they would be comforted by a quilt made especially for them. First responders can be exposed repeatedly to traumatic situations in their jobs, and so we include all of them, such as fire fighters, police officers, peace officers, EMS (paramedic and advanced life support), search and rescue, 911 dispatch, corrections officers, and a few others when we declare loud and proudly that we make quilts for military and first responders in a effort to reduce and assist in the recovery of operational stress injuries, which include: post traumatic stress disorder and post traumatic stress injuries, anxiety and depression, and traumatic brain injuries.

How do I request a quilt?

Right now we are very new. We can accept requests for quilts, and let you know what the wait will be, however, it can take a considerable amount of time to make a quilt, or to make several quilts to present in one region. We are setting up travel schedules to allow us to present quilts in person when the weather is good for travelling, but there will likely be fewer presentations in the winter months.

Are you a registered charity?

No, we aren't yet. That takes time. We have set up Valiant Hearts' League as a club within our registered company so that we can grow quickly but carefully, and so that we can remain agile. Operating as a charity can be amazing, but you have to operate under very specific rules for a while before that gets approved. We know that not being a charity might put off potential funders and sponsors, however we also hope that with the minimal amounts that Canadians actually receive back on their income tax when they make a charitable donation, it won't scare you off. And, we know that corporations can write off expenses in other ways. Besides, contributions at $50 and up include one year's membership! We encourage you to speak with your professional accountant if you have questions about donations vs contributions, and as always, we are happy to answer your questions. If things work out well in the upcoming months, we plan to set this up as a not for profit or charity, but that will take patience and time.

Quilting and More

About Us

Our Mission

Our Mission

Our Mission

Our Why

Our Mission

Our Mission

Legacy

Our Mission

Legacy

Frequently Asked Questions

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