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Photo by Graham Cullen
Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, flanked by Nancy Speck, left, and Kathy Cramer, pose for pictures Nov. 5 during a presentation of quilts by the Clustered Spires Quilt Guild to the sheriff’s office’s child advocacy center, the crime investigation unit and patrol supervisors. |
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When police officers come across child victims, they sometimes find them frightened, with little more to hang on to than the clothes on their backs."When you get in a situation one-on-one, it really helps children to have something to connect with," Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said. Jenkins accepted a collection of quilts donated to the sheriff's office Nov. 5 by the Clustered Spires Quilt Guild at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center. Nancy Speck, a quilt guild member, said the group decided to make the quilts so officers could hand them out to children in crisis. About 60 to 70 members fashioned about 30 to 40 quilts, each with different patterns, from patches of planets to children's book characters. The quilts ranged in size from 36 inches by 36 inches to 54 inches by 54 inches, Speck said. Some of the blankets took a few hours to make. Others could have taken weeks. "We do it because we love to do it," she said. Cpl. Tom Johann, a community services supervisor for the sheriff's office, said the quilts will be handed out to the police agency's child advocacy center, the crime investigation unit and patrol supervisors. Johann said children can be frightened of the officers, who may have to arrest a parent or send one to a hospital. He said he was expecting the quilt guild to give a few examples of their work to the sheriff's office, but was amazed by the abundance of their output. To be able to wrap a child in a blanket, feed them, help calm them down "can make all the difference in the world," he said. "It gives us another tool we can use."
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