The Preemie Pals organization was established in 2012 with a mission to comfort and uplift families facing a serious medical crisis with their child, through the donation to the family of a handmade quilt. In 2012, Preemie Pals donated 27 quilts. Nancy Memmer forged a partnership between Kiwanis Michigan District and Preemie Pals in 2017, when her husband Larry was the Governor-elect for the Michigan District. In the year Larry was governor, Nancy entreated the over 130 Kiwanis Clubs in Michigan to donate quilts to the Preemie Pal cause. The Michigan District donated 350 quilts, of which, more than 100 came from the Kiwanis Club of Alpena.

Preemie Pals initially donated only to Ann Arbor’s University of Michigan Brandon Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) located at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. The Brandon NICU is a Level IV care center for all levels of acute care. Babies are flown to Mott Hospital from all over Michigan and neighboring states.

The Brandon NICU treats over 1,200 neonatal babies per year … thus, they can use 1,200 quilts per year. Since 2012, Preemie Pals’ quilt donation has expanded nearly exponentially and they also have expanded their recipients to include the Pediatric-Thoracic Care Unit at Mott Hospital, the Detroit Children’s Hospital, Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, Trinity Health in St. Joe, and the Ronald McDonald House (for those larger quilts they receive).

In 2023. Preemie Pals donated 2,619 quilts. In its six-year partnership with Preemie Pals, the Kiwanis Club of Alpena, through their Kwilting for Kids program, has donated more than 650 quilts. A predominant majority of the Alpena quilts are made and donated by two local quilt groups–The Have a Hart quilt group, which sews at the Alpena Senior Citizens Center, and The Gone to Pieces Quilt Guild, which meets monthly at the First United Methodist Church. The enthusiasm and dedication of these two groups have been essential to the success of this project.

Courtesy Photo A handmade quilt is draped over an isolette in the neonatal unit of a Michigan hospital. The Kiwanis Kwilting for Kids program sends hundreds of quilts to hospitals across the state that go to families with babies in neonatal units, such as the University of Michigan Brandon Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.

The Kiwanis Club of Alpena’s current project year for collecting these quilts is underway, from October 2023 to October 2024 … so Kwilters can donate quilts now and throughout the remainder of the year. Kwilters can make basic block quilts, or any pattern of their choice. If Kwilters do not have fabric, backing material, or batting, the Kiwanis Kwilting for Kids program will provide any or all of these items to you, as needed.

The Kiwanis Club of Alpena’s goal is to provide a minimum of 100 quilts to Preemie Pals for this year. The Club sent 65 finished quilts with Nancy Memmer to be delivered to Preemie Pals in Saline. If you or your quilt group would like to help and be part of the Kiwanis Club of Alpena Kwilting for Kids project, contact Ginny Roland at ginnyroland@gmail.com.