Drexel senior and music industry major, Lauren Altman, hosted a quilting bee May 21 at the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships. This quilting bee brought students together with the community to create a quilt that will be donated to the People’s Emergency Center.

Altman is the the owner and operator of D6 Merchandise. Her business provides custom merchandise for various bands in the Philadelphia area. She was left with a heap of unused t-shirts when a band she worked for dissolved. She wanted to find a way to use the shirts and give back to the community.

“After brainstorming, I realized that I could accomplish these things all at once – repurpose old  t-shirts, bring community members and Drexel students together, and give to people in need,” Altman explained.

The event kicked off with a small breakfast for the attendees. After the refreshments, groups were organized so that there were stations for drawing squares, ironing, and cutting, as well as a writing and coloring station for kids. After all the stations completed their squares, the community came together to arrange and sew the squares together to make one big quilt. The quilt is comprised of many graphic t-shirt squares sewn together with a Dornsife Center t-shirt in the center with all the attendees’ signatures on it.

The quilt is going to the People’s Emergency Center in Philadelphia. PEC not only helps individuals, but entire neighborhoods as well. They offer their assistance by helping people find adequate living conditions, providing job training for those who do not have a lot of experience and aiding in the betterment and development of distressed neighborhoods.

The event was a way bring the community together to do something to benefit people in need. Lauren wants to continue to host quilting bees in the future, so that more people can get together to help others.

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