By Nanette Craig
Putting together the Airing of the Quilts every year involves many volunteers within the community. One such group will include seventh- and eighth-grade girls belonging to “The Gemstones.”
“Our focus is exposing junior high girls to enriching experiences,” said founder and executive director Elaine Smith.
The Gemstones is a multicultural group of girls and it costs them nothing to join.
“It’s all about commitment,” said Smith.
The group meets once a month and has several outings and volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Some of their workshops throughout the year include etiquette, sewing, personal hygiene and health, writing tips and money management.
In their sewing workshop, with the help of Fabric Carousel, they sew their own denim skirts, which they wear to outings.
“They come here for one of their monthly meetings to learn about sewing machines and sewing,” said Fabric Carousel’s Doris Collins. “Most of them are sitting in front of a sewing machine for the very first time.”
They also do what is called “writing impressions.”
During these impressions, they write about their Gemstones experiences.
At some meetings, some of the girls share their writings with the group.
Smith takes photos during the year and puts them, along with the journal entries, into a scrapbook. She then takes it out into the community for the public to see.
Last year it was showcased at the public library, the Wynne Home and the Walker County Chamber of Commerce.
“This gives the community a chance to see what the girls are expressing through their experiences,” said Smith.
A memorable writing impression for Smith to read was of the trip the group took to the Sam Houston State University campus.
“Some of them wrote they had no idea what college life was like,” Smith said. “They didn’t know everything they might need would be on campus. They had no idea that they could buy books, clothes on campus; they were just fascinated.”
She said the girls may pass the campus every day, but they never venture onto the campus and many have no idea of what it’s like.
When she read the impressions, she could see the girls’ eyes opening up to college.
“I’m all about information so they can make better decisions,” said Smith.
The group volunteers at the Martin Luther King celebration, the Fair on the Square’s children’s area and the Airing of the Quilts.
In addition to touring the university, they also go to a play or other arts performance, have a special dinner for their Christmas event and have a special tea to celebrate women.
Kendra Mahone, an alumnus of the Gemstones, said she really enjoyed it.
“We got to learn a lot of different things and be in a lot of different things, and it was fun,” said Kendra.
She said one of her favorite activities to be involved with was the Sam Houston Folk Festival. “I like being around kids,” she said.
Kendra’s father, Charles, felt a little left out of all the activities his daughter participated in because the Gemstones is a little bit of a girls club, but he said it was a positive program.
“It teaches them cultural diversity,” said Charles.
“We recommend it to all families,” said Karen, Kendra’s mother.
Smith said one of her girls is a little shy but she had told Smith she liked art and drawing and this year helped with face painting during the fair.
“She was really proud of herself,” said Smith.
She said she could see the young lady’s self-esteem rising the more she painted. In her writings, Smith said the young girl wrote she didn’t know she could do it, but now she knows that she can.
“If nothing else, these girls learn something about themselves,” said Smith.
She also said many of the girls wrote when they volunteered, they really enjoyed helping, and it made them feel good about doing it.
In what is now their second year as a group and as volunteers for the Airing of the Quilts, these girls will be helping viewers identify a quilt’s maker. They will be wearing their pink Gemstone shirts and wearing white gloves to protect the quilts.
A project all the girls are very proud of is the quilt they had a part in constructing for the airing.
Smith said Collins, who is a member of the Tall Pines Quilt Guild, really touched her heart when the Guild offered to do a quilt for the girls.
The girls are given a muslin square to personalize and put what being a Gemstone means to them. The Guild then puts together the quilt for them.
“They bring the blocks to us, and the Quilt Guild will sew them together and have it quilted and bound,” said Collins.
The quilt will hang at the Airing of the Quilts this weekend. “They love having it hang in the show because they all take pictures standing in front of the quilt,” she said.
“They were very proud parents,” said Smith. “It’s always amazing to see how they can touch your heart with what they say.”
The Gemstones are supported by generous donations from area residents, and Smith has help from Linda Moten, Lynn Kelly and Donniea Garrett during various workshops. This past year, after they went to a dance program at SHSU, a donor treated the girls to dinner at The Homestead.
Smith said the girls didn’t know what everything on the menu was, but because of that experience, it empowered them to embrace any learning opportunity.
“In the long run, I hope it’s building that community within yourself. Wherever you go, you are strong enough to be a part of whatever is going on,” said Smith.
She said the group talks about gemstones and what it means to be a Gemstone.
“A Gemstone is something talented, unique, special. All are different shapes and hues but each one can, with polish, or information, can just shine, glisten and glow. It’s always there, you can polish it again because once a gemstone, always a gemstone,” said Smith.
On Sunday, the Gemstones will welcome guest speaker Helen King to their second annual tea at the Huntsville Housing Authority.
They will have their graduation on May 31 at the Texas Prison Museum from 2-4 p.m.
Any girls in seventh- or eighth-grade are invited to apply for Gemstones now until June 6.
For more information, contact Elaine Smith at (936) 291-0916.
