Iron Quilters
One of the most emotionally powerful things we do is to wrap deserving Veterans and First Responders with a handmade quilt created in their honor.
During our annual Jam, we invite our honorees to come up in front of the audience and the musicians. We tell their stories and then present them with their custom made red, white, and blue Marathon Jam Quilt of Honor. Since 2009, we have wrapped and honored Veterans from every service branch and outstanding First Responders or, in some cases, family members in memory of those who served and given their all.
We have seen firsthand how these quilts become treasured possessions. This would not be possible without the generous Quilters who donate their time, material, and talents to making these special quilts.
Our newest partner is the Durham-Orange Quilters Guild. They graciously include us in their community outreach by providing 8-10 handmade twin bed size quilts to wrap our honorees. We appreciate all their beautiful quilts!
The photos on this page bear witness to this special and moving annual event. If you would like to become an Iron Quilter or help our Quilters with supplies and material, have questions or send a donation to offset shipping costs, please contact us.
Below is a personal story from our Iron Quilter, Laura Bishop, who shared her reasons for devoting her time to making so many quilts for us over several years.
“I live in Minnesota, far from NC home of Marathon Jam. I got involved via my cousin, a Veteran and musician, who participated in Marathon Jams himself. I sent my first quilt in 2018. The ensuing Thank You note from the recipient, photos of the presentation, and verbal recollections of the wrapping were enough to compel me to not only make and collect more quilts, but to personally deliver them to North Carolina! My husband and I drove to our first Marathon Jam in 2019. I also created is the “Display Quilt” that features the Marathon Jam logo (“Curatus Per Musica” means “Healing Through Music”) as well as a special quilt to honor John Santa, the President Emeritus. It has been a privilege for me to be involved with the Marathon Jam, and I hope that quilters in North Carolina will get involved as well!”
