Programs
Quilts for Survivors
Honouring Survivors with gifts of healing and care.
Quilts for Survivors was founded in Ontario by Vanessa Genier as a symbol of support and respect for Indian residential school Survivors.
Orange Shirt Society has partnered with Vanessa to run a Cariboo Chilcotin branch. A community-led initiative bringing together quilters, volunteers, and organizations across the area to gift handmade quilts—each one a symbol of respect, warmth, and love.
A Gift That Says: You Are Seen, You Are Loved, You Are Not Forgotten
This project began with a simple intention: to surround Survivors with something made just for them, something that offers comfort, care, and recognition for the strength they carry.
Quilts are gifted with no cost to Survivors. There is no catch, no deadline, and no form of eligibility beyond your story and your truth. If you are a Survivor, you deserve to be honoured.
More than fabric and thread
How it Works
Nominate a Survivor
Family, friends, caregivers, and community members can submit a nomination on behalf of a Survivor. Survivors may also nominate themselves.
Receive a Quilt
Once a nomination is received, our team works to match the Survivor with a handmade quilt created by one of our volunteers.
Made With Heart
Every quilt is made by volunteer’s hand. The makers do this to honour you—no one profits, and no one expects anything in return.
Real Impact
Since OSS’s Cariboo Chilcotin branch of Quilts for Survivors started, we have gifted over 80 handmade quilts to local Survivors
“When I received my quilt, I cried. I felt like someone finally saw me, not just as a Survivor, but as a person who lived through something and is still here.”
Quilt Recipient, 2023
Join the Movement
Are you a quilter or community group looking to get involved? We welcome donations of quilts or quilting materials. Help us honour more Survivors, one quilt at a time.