Downy Touch of Comfort Announces the Grand Prize Winner of The Quilter Challenge

CINCINNATI, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, Downy Touch of Comfort, in partnership with The Quilter Magazine, launched "The Quilter Challenge" – a program designed to encourage people to give back to their communities and help deliver comfort to children in hospitals nationwide.  The contest invited all quilters across the country to make as many qualified quilts as possible and send them to Quilts for Kids, an organization which donates the quilts to children staying in Children's Miracle Network hospitals nationwide. Now, Downy Touch of Comfort and The Quilter Magazine are proud to announce Linda Hogan from Rockport, Massachusetts as the first place winner of the Downy Touch of Comfort Quilter Challenge.  

A large amount of quilters participated by creating unique, specialized quilts that fit the regulations set forth by Quilts for Kids' and the Children's Miracle Network hospitals. Hogan was named the first place winner in the contest after submitting a whopping 80 qualified quilts to Quilts for Kids to help comfort children all across the country.  The quilts, made in a mere three months, are enough to comfort more than six dozen hospitalized children. In total, over 330 total quilts were submitted by quilters nationwide, helping to deliver a touch of comfort to hundreds of hospitalized children.

"We are thrilled that so many quilters were able to give back through The Quilter Challenge," said Mary Pochobradsky, Downy Marketing Director.  "The dedication and support of the quilting community has played a major role in the Downy Touch of Comfort program, helping Downy to come closer to our goal of delivering 10,000 more quilts to hospitalized children."

The Importance of Comfort

Each year in the United States, children account for more than six million hospital stays and must confront the challenges of overcoming illness while staying in unfamiliar hospital environments.  In order to bring a little comfort and security back to some of these children, Downy fabric softener, in partnership with Quilts for Kids, Inc., created the Downy Touch of Comfort program to help children staying in Children's Miracle Network hospitals nationwide. Security items such as quilts can help these children feel more comforted during medical treatments and hospital stays.

Meet the Winners

As the first place winner, Linda will embark on a trip to Los Angeles, California to meet Emmy® award nominee, Screen Actors Guild® award winner, star of "Grey's Anatomy," Broadway actress, mother of three and Downy Touch of Comfort spokesperson, Chandra Wilson.  

Hogan began quilting back in 1976 and eventually made a name for herself as "The Blueberry Quilter," as she enjoys spending time picking blueberries at her nearby blueberry patch. Years later, she came across an article about The Quilter Challenge in the March issue of The Quilter Magazine. Always up for a challenge, Linda quickly got to work, sewing an amazing 42 quilts in only a month. As the contest drew to a close, Linda became more driven and touched by the opportunity to help even more children, and in the last six days, she created 38 more customized quilts.

"I'm always looking for a challenge, especially one that goes towards a good cause," said Linda. "Even after winning this challenge, I plan to continue giving back with my quilts."

Linda wasn't alone in her dedicated efforts to bring comfort to many children; Anna Ameen from Princeton Junction, New Jersey and Sharon Melrose from Enid, Oklahoma both were runners up in the contest, having created 62 and 35 quilts respectively. Their contributions to the program have made a major difference in the lives of almost one hundred children nationwide.

Children Always Need A Touch of Comfort...

You can also help impact the lives of hospitalized children across America and help make their stays more comfortable by purchasing a specially marked Downy at a store near you. Five cents from each bottle purchased will be donated to Quilts for Kids.  You may also visit www.Downy.com to find the several new features on the site that will give you an inside look at the program and allow you to add a "touch of comfort" in your community in numerous ways:

• Find information about how to make a direct donation to Quilts for Kids
• Find out how to contact your local Quilts for Kids chapter to get directly involved
• Share your story about the quilt you have created or how the program has affected you

For more information, visit www.Downy.com and watch the new Downy Touch of Comfort documentary, "The Gift of Comfort," which stars spokesperson Chandra Wilson and several affected children.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Quilts for Kids, Inc.

Quilts for Kids, Inc. is a non-profit organization that transforms discontinued designer fabrics into quilts that comfort hospitalized children suffering from life-threatening illnesses as well children of abuse.    

Headquartered in Yardley, PA, Quilts for Kids, Inc. was founded in August 2000 by Linda Arye.  The organization was established with hopes of comforting children hospitalized with life threatening illnesses by providing a hand made patchwork quilt.  These quilts are created by caring volunteer quilters nationwide who wish to make a difference in the lives of these hospitalized children.  Since then, the charity has distributed over 60,000 quilts worldwide and saved millions of pounds of fabric from landfills. Quilts for Kids, Inc. is associated with children's hospitals throughout the United States and has 50 chapters throughout North America.

Because of allergens, children often cannot bring their stuffed animals to the hospital. However, most hospitals and treatment centers welcome the Quilts for Kids, Inc. washable, all-cotton quilts, which kids can hold onto for security and comfort.

To learn more about Quilts for Kids, Inc., visit www.QuiltsforKids.org.

About the Children's Miracle Network

Children's Miracle Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals across North America. Each year the 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind.

Through its year-round efforts to help kids, Children's Miracle Network has raised more than $3.4 billion to date, most of which is donated a dollar or two at a time by caring individuals across North America.

For more information about Children's Miracle Network, please visit www.ChildrensMiracleNetwork.org.

About Chandra Wilson

Chandra Wilson currently appears as Dr. Miranda Bailey on ABC's hit series "Grey's Anatomy."  Her numerous television credits include a series regular on the ABC series "Bob Patterson," and guest starring roles on "The Sopranos," "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Sex and the City," "Third Watch," "100 Centre Street" "Cosby" and "The Cosby Show." She has had recurring roles on "One Life to Live" and "Queens Supreme," and a principle role in the CBS Schoolbreak Special, "Sexual Considerations." She has also appeared in national commercials for Blockbuster Video, Burger King, Scope and the United Negro College Fund, as well as numerous radio commercials.

SOURCE Procter & Gamble