Making a Difference for Foster Kids through Quilts

Wanda Agee, affectionately known by students at Southwestern Adventist University as Mama Agee, is the office manager for KJRN The Journey, the university’s on-campus radio station. She is a kind and giving person who has used her gifts and talents to make a difference on campus and in the community. When communication students arrived on campus for the Fall 2020 semester, they were each given a couple handmade masks by Agee. This is one example of how Wanda is generously blessing others with her handmade items.

Every year, Wanda makes a total of 52 quilts that she then donates to CASA of Johnson County, a volunteer organization dedicated to advocating for children. These quilts are then distributed to foster children as Christmas presents. Agee began this project when her mother-in-law passed away and she found a few quilts that had not been completed. Agee decided to finish them off and donate them. Shortly after, she found several squares that had already been cut for quilts and decided to make those as well. Since then, she has made it her goal to complete one quilt a week, with a total of 52 quilts. Due to the pandemic and an increased time at home, Agee was able to finish her yearly project by November and is already working on next year’s batch of quilts. 

Before each quilt is packed for distribution, Wanda prays for the child that will be receiving it as a gift, hoping that blanket can make a difference in that child’s life and serve as a comfort. “There’s something special about having your favorite blanket with you,” she says. “Receiving it during Christmas time, when everyone else is also receiving gifts and they might be feeling left out or having a particularly hard time, is even more special to them.”

While she previously became discouraged, unsure if she was making a difference through this project, she received encouragement to keep going by hearing about the impact it has on these children. “One foster mom shared with me that she could see the impact in the lives of children that receive quilts that have been prayed over,” says Wanda. “She could see the difference in the sleep of kids with quilts that had been prayed over.” That reignited her passion to continue sewing and praying over quilts for children in the foster system.

Wanda Agee is merely one example of how staff and faculty live out the mission of Southwestern Adventist University to inspire knowledge, faith and service. This special project is making a difference in the community and in the hearts of children in need. SWAU remains committed to being of service. Whether that means providing food for students, participating in church services or sewing quilts, the spirit of giving continues not only during the holiday season but also throughout the year.