PEO members host fundraising trip to Houston International Quilt Show

About 100 Georgetown women who are members of Chapter JK of Philanthropic Educational Organization International, or PEO, recently hosted a fundraiser by attending the International Quilt Festival in Houston.

The fundraiser was the first for the chapter members.

PEO International is a women’s organization, founded in 1869, that strives to celebrate the advancement of women and to educate women through its financial projects.

“The primary goal of these projects is to support women who are completing or beginning an education and need financial assistance,” chapter president Marilyn Peters said. “Taking on this ambitious fundraiser allowed our chapter to support PEO’s educational projects even more generously than in the past.”

As the largest of its kind in the world, the International Quilt Festival in Houston has long been a favorite with area quilters, Ms. Peters said. The show combines a quilt competition and show with a large vendor area, selling everything from specialized threads and fabrics to stitching and cutting equipment for all levels of sewing.

Deciding the venture would be a good fit for their chapter, members got busy organizing bus transportation, hotel arrangements and updated registration.

“This is by far the most successful fundraising event I’ve been involved in,” said Linda Thomas, a steering committee member who has been a PEO member since 1997.

Joy Gardberg, also a steering committee member, said she enjoyed the engagement afforded by the project.

“It provided many opportunities for small groups within our chapter to work on varying aspects of the trip, engaging a large portion of our members,” Ms. Gardberg said. “They handled everything from making luggage tags to stuffing envelopes and preparing snack bags.”

Information about next year’s trip is available by emailing the chapter at peoquiltshow@gmail.com. For information about PEO International, go to www.peointernational.org.