2025 Quilts4Cops.org: Labor of Love Quilting Bee

On Monday October 06, 2025, we had the wonderful opportunity to have our 9^th Quilts4Cops.org: Labor of Love Quilting Bee at the New York Police Department (NYPD) Headquarters, 1 Police Plaza.  From the commissioner’s office to the police- department’s building and grounds personnel, the NYPD made the Quilts4Cops.org: Labor of Love Quilting Bee, an exceptional experience.

We were welcomed by the NYPD Commissioner, Jessica S. Tisch and NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Employee Relations, Lisa White.  PBA President Patrick Hendry was present as well.  They all gave salutations for our work. The NYPD Band kept our vibrations high with their musical arrangements of song, rhythm, and harmony.  They were outstanding and I would consider them for a event 😊.

Thirty quilters from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island gathered to sew quilt blocks and quilt bindings for our NYPD families.  Most of these women represented various quilting guilds across the New York City area and/or are independent sewers. We are forever grateful to these women who volunteer their time, energy, and resources for making quilts for our families.

In addition to our quilting bee, a Labor of Love Ceremony was conducted to honor the following 12 Post 9/11 families.

• Sgt. Charles A. Afanasewicz
• Lt. Steven R. Galan
• Chief Michael Ansbro
• Det. Peter J. Grzymalski
• Chief Geral Nelson
• Police Officer Thomas W. Miller
• Police Officer Jorge L. Gonzalez
• Police Officer Joseph P. Geschwind
• Det. John E. Kilpatrick
• Police Officer Gerard J. Coggins
• Det. Jewel I Todman-Phillip
• Sgt. Theresa Foiles

A family member from each of these officers received a quilt.  It was a precious day and we look forward to our annual quilting bee at 1PP. 

At the end of our quilting bee, we held our annual raffle for NYPD officers and a separate raffle for our quilters. Three 30×30 quilted wall-hangings and one 50×50 quilt were won by NYPD officers and 3 market totes were won by our quilters.

If you are interested in volunteering with Quilts4Cops.org, please email us at laboroflovequiltproject@gmail.com and join our emailing list. Please see our gallery for photos from our 2025 Quilting Bee.

If you would like to make monetary donations, please do so via our website’s donation page. We appreciate the financial support the PBA has donated over the years towards quilting supplies and the overall support of the NYPD. 

2024 8th Annual Labor of Love Quilting Bee @1 Police Plaza, NYC

On Monday October 21, 2024, we had our 8^th Annual Labor of Love Quilting Bee at 1 Police Plaza in New York City.  Quilters from all five boroughs, Long Island and New Jersey gathered and sewed quilt blocks and entire quilts for the families of NYPD officers that died as a result of Post 9/11 illnesses.  Please see our gallery section for more photos of the quilters.

We had the pleasure of having live-music performed by the NYPD Jazz Band. This band does not disappoint! The quilters were actually dancing in their seats as they sewed.   The music was amazing and the atmosphere was relaxed and totally inspiring.

This year, our “NYPD Freestyle Quilt Pattern” was showcased.  This pattern comprises mini versions of the four Quilts4cops.org quilt patterns [ e.g., patrolman’s star, police woman’s star, a police officer’s heart, and the law enforcement star patterns] as well as the option of adding additional blocks to complete the quilt-top. Traditionally, quilters refer to this style of quilt-top making as a sampler quilt but for a modern approach, we termed ours as a freestyle quilt pattern.  If you are interested in making one for donation, please see our “quilt patterns section” on this website to obtain the pattern.  This year, we raffled four quilts and had two NYPD staff and two quilters as winners. We also had gifts made for the quilters by Cathy Lee and Jean as an appreciation for their works.  

We had the opportunity of meeting NYPD Commissioner, Tom Donlon and NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Employee Relations, Lisa D. White, as well as other NYPD managerial staff that greeted us at the quilting bee.  Quilts4Cops.org honored 43 Post 9/11 families with a ceremony at the Labor of Love Quilting Bee.  The NYPD Foundation provided a wonderful ceremony, breakfast and lunch for all in attendance.  NYPD Deputy Commissioner Lisa D.  White provided greetings, honors, and encouragement to the NYPD Post 9/11 families, Quilts4Cops.org, as well as to the quilters. 

The following officers were honored and their families were given a quilt in their remembrance.

2023 Labor of Love Quilting Bee

On Monday, October 16, 2023, we held our 7^th Annual Quilting Bee at the New York Police Department (NYPD) Headquarters located at 1 Police Plaza.  We would like to thank NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and the entire police department for hosting our event as well as providing a continental breakfast and luncheon.

IN MEMORIAM

This year, we honored 34 NYPD Officers that died due to post 9/11 related illnesses.  NYPD Deputy Commissioner Lisa White gave a heartfelt speech about NYPD Post 9/11 rescue and recovery, as well as sentiments regarding quilts for cops. The families of these Post 9/11 officers received a quilt to honor their memories. The names of the honored officers are the following:

1	Police Officer	Chanda D. Barnes
2	Sergeant	Hugh Barlett
3	Sergeant	William P. Brautigam Jr.
4	Detective	Barabara A. Burnette
5	Sergeant	Pedro A. Candia
6	Detective	Enrico J. Crisafi
7	Detective	Michael A. Devecchis
8	Sergeant	Cornelious J. Douglas
9	Detective	Pedro A. Foruria Sr.
10	Sergeant	Michael Fuller
11	Police Officer	Hector M. Gonzalez Jr.
12	Detective	Roland A. Gray
13	Detective	Patrick J. Hogan
14	Police Officer	John Horan
15	Detective	Michael A. Houlahan
16	Police Officer	Dennis A. Howard
17	Police Officer	Denise A. Jones
18	Police Officer	William M. Kelly
19	Detective	Brian J. Maley
20	Detective	George Moreno
21	Detective	Terence P. Mulvey
22	Police Officer	Thomas M. O’Reilly Jr.
23	Detective	Nicholas F. Ortiz
24	Police Officer	Neil E. Porter
25	Police Officer	Lawerance J. Prehn
26	Police Officer	Michael J. Reass
27	Police Officer	Steven L. Rodriguez
28	Police Officer	Michael Romano
29	Detective	Frank Rosado
30	Sergeant	Christopher M. Tully
31	Police Officer	Matthew S. Von Seydewitz
32	Detective	James M. Ward
33	Supervisor of Mech.	Edwin O. Lim
34	Tea IV	Linda P. Mercer

HONORING OUR SUPPORT

The Police Benevolent Association (P.B.A) President Patrick Hendry, P.B.A Officers and Trustees were honored at the Quilts4Cops.org: Labor of Love Quilting Bee with plaques.  The P.B.A has supported Quilts4Cops.org since our inception. This year, they generously purchased a long-arm quilting machine for our organization and we are forever grateful.  Thank you, President Patrick Hendry, P.B.A. Officers, Trustees, and our liaison, Transit Trustee Juan Zubizaretta.  

We had the opportunity to honor, NYPD employee Wini Logan with a quilt made specially for her in gratitude for all of the set-up work she has done with the Quilts4Cops.org Labor of Love Quilting Bees at 1 Police Plaza.

In addition, we honored all of our quilters with certificates of appreciation for participating in the Labor of Love Quilting Bee and freely giving their time and energy to our organization.

QUILTING BEE ACTIVITIES

Over thirty quilters that reside within the five boroughs of New York City attended the Quilts4Cops.org Labor of Love Quilting Bee. These women represent various quilting guilds, some of which are the Brooklyn Quilters Guild, Staten Island Quilters, “Quilting Queens” Guild -Queens N.Y. Quilters, and The United Federation of Teachers, Brooklyn campus.  

Hand-sewn and machine-sewn quilt-tops were made with fabrics and sewing notions purchased by Quilts4Cops.org as well as donated fabrics.  We collected 15 quilt-tops by the end of the event.

This year our quilt pattern of choice was “A Police Officer’s Heart,” and several of the ladies sewed this pattern at the event. If you’re interested in sewing this pattern, it is located on our website, just click the “our quilt patterns” icon.  

Last, we sponsored a raffle quilt as a fundraiser to purchase more materials for future quilt making. Congratulations Meagan Cuffy for winning the quilt!  Our fundraiser project raised hundred and sixty dollars.   We are planning to have more raffle-quilt fundraisers.  Please look at our gallery [on this website] to see more photos of the 2023 Labor of Love Quilting Bee at 1 Police Plaza.  We look forward to Next Year’s Labor of Love Quilting Bee!  

01/25/23 Quilts4Cops Featured on the Muster Room Podcast Episode 7

We had the opportunity to talk about how Quilts4Cops developed on the Muster Room Podcast, please check it out via the following link: https://themusterroom.com/episodes/s2e7-remembering-richard-holland

11/14/2022 Our Quilting bee @1PP

On Monday, November 14, 2022, we had the wonderful opportunity to have our 5^th Annual Quilting Bee at 1 Police Plaza in New York City. The day was refreshing and the quilters were full of energy to sew.  Quilters from the Brooklyn Quilters Guild, Brooklyn United Federation of Teachers, Quilting-N-Queens Guild, as well as quilters from Staten Island and Long Island, came to sew quilt tops and quilt blocks. Please see the gallery section of our website, which has photos of the event. 

We were greeted by NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, and had a ceremony hosted by Deputy Commissioner for Employee Relations Lisa White, who greeted us and thanked us for our work.  The founder of Quilts4Cops, Diane Pryor-Holland was gifted a quilt by Quilter, Barbara McNamara in honor of Diane’s husband, Police Officer, Richard Holland.  

Quilts were made to honor the following officers, and these quilts will be given to their families.

IN MEMORIAM  

Jennifer	Abramowitz	Detective
Leonard	Cocco	Detective
Terence	Connelly	Police Officer
Reginald	Cooley	Police Officer
Harry	D’Onofrio	Detective
Thomas	Gallo	Detective
Valerie	Jacobs	Detective
Jewel	Jenkins	Detective
Emilio	Laboy	Detective
Raphael	Lora	Police Officer
Carl	Ludwig	Police Officer
Charlie	Mackie	Detective
Patrick	Monroe	Police Officer
Thomas	Neal	Detective
Michael	O’Neil	Inspector
Nicholas	Purpero	Police Officer
Mark	Rawdon	Detective
Mark	Smith	Sergeant
William	Soto	Detective
Andrew	Stromfeld	Police Officer
Nemesio	Vera	Sergeant
Peter	Woods	Sergeant
David	Yu	Sergeant
John	Zonneveld	Lieutenant

In addition, we showcased our latest quilt pattern, which is entitled the Law Enforcement Star.  A raffle quilt was made of the law enforcement star and we were able to raise 305.00 for our organization [please see the photo above of the law enforcement star].  The funds will be used to purchase supplies so we can make more quilts [of course! 🙂 ]. If you’re interested in making a quilt, the law enforcement quilt pattern is located in the quilt pattern section of our website.  NYPD Officer Beatrice won the raffle quilt.  We hope to have more quilts to raffle at our next quilting bee! 

10/17/2022

During the Law Enforcement Organization Weekend, we also had the wonderful opportunity to meet Nicole from the Community Police Relations Foundation, which is a charity dedicated to strengthening community & law enforcement relations through outreach participation, events, and scholarships. More about the foundation could be found at http://www.CPRFcharity.org.

10/13/2022

On Saturday, October 8, 2022, the Law Enforcement [national]Organization, known as LEO honored P.O. Richard Holland of NYPD and Police Officer Matthew Gerald of the Baton Rouge Louisiana Police Department. Both families were overwhelmed with blessings and gratitude.

09/27/2022

Please helps us support Wini!

Quilts4Cops counts on Wini to help make our Quilting Bees at One Police Plaza a success and she has done so on many occasions. She is always the first to volunteer, with a big smile and a pure ♥️. You could tell that Wini loves helping our Post 9/11 families and Members of Service. Wini can always be found working hard and having a positive attitude to get tasks completed. Everyone who knows Wini, knows how much joy she brings to each and every one of us.

Now it’s time for her Blue family to bring some positivity her way. Recently, Wini was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and will have to undergo chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. I’m praying that these donations will make this challenging time a bit easier, and help her navigate all the medical expenses that will come her way. Please join us to support Wini by donating today on her Gound me page: https://gofund.me/4a041844 .

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9/11/2022

NYPD Commissioner Sewell and I at 1PP on 9/11/22, honoring the lives of everyone affected by the 9/11/01 Terrorist Attacks.

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Hello everyone,

We hope all is well. It’s time for our 2022 Quilting Bee at 1 PP. Please RSVP as soon as possible via our email address, which is written on the following flyer.

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2021 Quilts4Cops: Labor of Love Quilting Bee

October 25, 2021, was our first Labor of Love Quilting Bee held at 1 PP since the COVID pandemic. We could only invite a small group of people to come and sew blocks as per NYPD COVID requirements for having people in the building.

We are grateful that NYPD 1st Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker came and spoke with our Quilts4Cops Labor of Love sewers. He gave an inspiring and heartfelt welcome, as well as encouraged us to continue to sew quilts for cops.

Although we had a very small number of participants, unfortunately, we had an even smaller amount than anticipated as a result of the large group of protesters for the NYC vaccine mandate for city workers. For some, it was difficult to reach our event because of traffic. However, we were still able to get some work done.

We thank everyone that attended and those who were en route but were unable to reach our event, thank you too. We hope to see our usual group of sewers in the future at our next Quilts 4 Cops: Labor of Love Quilting Bee.

We wish everyone a safe and prosperous holiday season that is full of health and wellness. Please follow us at Quilts4Cops on Instagram and Facebook. Last, please check out our gallery page for photos from the 2021 Labor of Love Quilting Bee.

Hello everyone,  we hope all is well with you and your families.  It’s unfortunate that we could not gather to honor the families with their quilts this year as a result of COVID19; however, the NYPD has been very generous and mailed our Labor of Love quilts to the families of the following NYPD Post 9//11 Officers that should have been honored at 1 Police Plaza during March 2020. .  We are very grateful and we look forward to continuing our mission for making Quilts 4 COPS! Quilters, please join us by sewing a 12.5 X 12.5 quilt block using NYPD colors and mailing it to our address:

Quilts 4 COPS: A Labor of Love Quilt Project BOX 1062 224-21 Merrick BLVD Laurelton, NY 11413.

May 2020 : The following officers’ families were honored with Labor of Love Quilts

Join Us!

Granny Block

We are actively preparing for the March 23, 2020 Labor of Love Quilting Bee at 1 Police Plaza. Fabrics are being auditioned and cut, so beautiful quilt blocks can be sewn. The granny block will be one of our featured blocks at the Bee. If you’re interested, please ask for the granny block packet! We look forward to seeing you soon!

911 Walk of Remembrance

On Sunday September 8th, 2019, I participated in the 9/11 Walk of Remembrance sponsored by the FDNY. To learn more about this organization, please visit http://www.911walkofremembrance.org/ .

This was my first year participating in this event and it was very nice. It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked about three miles. Most of the participants’ families worked or died on 9/11 and they honored their loved ones with beautiful patriotic shirts. I walked in honor of my father, P.O. Richard Holland. He died as a result of 9/11 related cancer and I wore a photo button of him. Please see photos.

As I walked down toward the 9/11 memorial site, I realized that I did this walk before. In fact, it was on 9/11/01 and on that day I walked in the opposite direction that I walked on September 8th, 2019. It was such a revelation! Spring Street & Varick was my location and I walked many blocks after seeing the second airplane enter the towers. On that day, it took hours to get home and I’m glad I did so safely.

When we reached Spring & Varick, we visited the NYC FDNY Museum, I never knew they had one. It’s beautiful. A must see! I remember seeing the firemen from that same station rushing towards the towers on 9/11/01. Ohh, the memories, they seem so rushed now because everything happened so fast.

Overall, the walk was peaceful and everyone was in good spirits. It started in prayer and ended in prayer, and there is nothing better than that!—Rochelle Holland

I look forward to participating in 2020. Join us!

Labor of Love @ The NYC Police Benevolent Association

The New York Police Department Police Benevolent Association has been a strong supporter of H.O.P.S as well as The Labor of Love Quilt Project since its inception. Today we honored President Pat Lynch, and N.Y.P.D. Transit Representatives Juan Zubizarreta and Corey Gable with Patrolman’s Star Quilts. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were so happy to acknowledge their support. Thank you again!–September 4, 2019

Labor of Love Quilt Project with Pat Kiernan June 2019 and H.O.P.S.

Founder Diane Pryor-Holland on iHeartRadio

Please watch and listen to our video clip of Quilter, Diane Pryor-Holland and NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Bob Ganley’s interview on iheart radio Q104.3 on the Sonstein Sundays broadcast with Shelli Sonstein. The interview was published on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12, 2019 6:55 a.m. and it discusses HOPS: Helping Our Post 9/11 Survivors non-profit organization and the Labor of Love Quilt Project.

Police Officers Pride Quilt

We are honoring and celebrating the lives of NYC Police Officers that are part of the PRIDE community who worked rescue and recovery on and after September 11, 2001 and later died as a result of 9/11 related illnesses as well as those who are living with 9/11 related illnesses. In their honor, we created the following Police Officers Pride Quilt for PRIDE month [June, 2019]

Our next Quilting Bee is scheduled for October 7, 2019 and our theme is “A Police Officer’s Heart.” Yesterday, as my mother and I drove over the Verrazano Bridge, police officers helped stop a man from committing suicide on the bridge and it made our theme “A Police Officer’s Heart” resonate with me, all over again. It is not an easy job, but for many, it is done from a heart of compassion.

Some of the ladies started sewing a mini version of the Police Officer’s Heart quilt block during the March 2019 Quilting Bee, which will later develop into a 50×50 inch lap quilt. I have a pattern for a 50X50 quilt size, and if you’re interested in making a charity quilt with it, please email me at 911hops@gmail.com. —Rochelle

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH-HERSTORY @ THE MARCH 2019 LABOR OF LOVE QUILTING BEE

This was our third Labor of Love Quilting Bee at 1PP, NYC. It was an absolute success! For the month of March, our nation celebrates women’s history, and during our March 25, 2019 Labor of Love Quilting Bee at 1 Police Plaza, our theme was celebrating Policewomen that worked rescue and recovery on and after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks and those who died as a result of 9/11 related illnesses. We featured the Policewoman’s Star Quilt. Please see the photo below.

We had quilters from most of all the five boroughs in New York City volunteering. Quilters from the Quilters of Color Network, Empire Quilters, Quilting Queens [QNQ-Queens, N.Y.], Brooklyn Quilters Guild and Retired teachers [who are also quilters] from the United Federation of Teachers who reside in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island attended and sewed during the Quilting Bee. Thank you for your work! Thank you to all of the Post 9/11 families that are recipients of the Labor of Love Project and who also volunteered during the Quilting Bee that was very generous of you!

We also had a ceremony for families to receive their quilts. There were actual tears of joy during the ceremony and we are grateful that we were able to execute a positive experience. After the ceremony, families were able to meet some of the quilters that made their quilts. The families of the following N.Y.P.D. Officers that died as a result of 9/11 related illnesses received quilts.

Inspector Donald Feser Capt. Dennis Morales Lt. Steven Cioffi Sgt. Harold Smith Det. Corey Diaz Det. Edwin Ortiz Det. Joseph Cavitolo Det. James Albanese Det. Joseph Seabrook Det. Kevin Czartoryski Det. Michael Morales P.O. Cheryl Johnson P.O. David Mahmoud P.O. Denis McLarney P.O. Martin Tom P.O. Peter Rodriguez P.O. Renee Dunbar P.O. Ronald Becker P.O. Kevin Lee Supervisor Umberto Corso

At this time, we would like to thank the New York City Police Department for all of their support and for sponsoring our event. Thank you Commissioner James O’Neill, Chief of Department T. Monahan, Deputy Commissioner Robert Ganley, Chief T. Burns and the Employee Relations Unit, DEA Vice President Paul Digiacomo, PBA President Pat Lynch and P.B.A . Officials, Thank you for making time to support us and for your kind words to the quilters and the families. Thank you W. Logan of NYPD Buildings and Grounds for your professionalism, for meeting with us on a Saturday and all of your physical labor. Last but not least, thank you Chaplain Casono for saying a blessing over the quilts. It was a day of excitement and service! All of us collectively worked to share our expression of Love. Please see our photos posted in our gallery.

A widow in the photo below volunteered to help design the mini Policewoman’s Star and Patrolman’s Star mini quilt tops. She is not a quilter [yet :-)] but she is a recipient of the Labor of Love Quilt Project.

Commissioner James P. O’Neill at the October 2018 Labor of Love Quilting Bee.

Date: 10/25/2018

Monday, October 22, 2018, was our second Labor of Love Quilting Bee located at 1 Police Plaza.  More than 60 quilters attended to help and sew charity quilts for our survivor families.  Women and men from Empire Quilters Guild, Quilters of Color Network, Quilting Queens Guild, Brooklyn Quilters Guild, and quilters from the NYC United Federation of Retired Teachers gathered and hand-sewed patchwork blocks. The atmosphere was comfortable and full of excitement. Not only did these quilters sew blocks but some also brought in completed charity quilts.  Commissioner O’Neill also provided a beautiful lunch for the families and quilters.

Commissioner James P. O’Neill greeted us and presented the following 12 families with quilts that were made by women in New York City and throughout the United States.

• Deputy Chief James Molloy
• Assistant Chief Michael Quinn
• Sergeant Alex Baez
• Sergeant Edward Thompson
• Police Officer James Godbee
• Detective Roberto Rivera
• Detective Luis Fernandez
• Detective William Holfester
• Police Officer Gary Mausberg
• Police Officer Robert Nicosia
• The families were grateful and overjoyed. You actually heard the families say “ouuuuu” when the quilt was presented to them, which was priceless.  The quilts provided some solace as they continue to deal with the absence of their loved ones.
• During the event, we also showcased our Patrolman’s Star quilt.  The quilt pattern was created by Rochelle Holland in loving memory of her father Richard Holland and dedicated to all of the NYPD officers that worked rescue and recovery on and after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks. Please see the Star above. If anyone is interested in making the Patrolman’s Star and donating the finished quilt to our organization, please email us at 911hops@gmail.com and request a free PDF pattern. Women throughout the United States have sewn beautiful renditions of this quilt pattern and we have photos of them on our FB page.   Also, check out our gallery of photos from the event on this website.
• Patrolman’s Star Quilt
• The quilters were able to complete 15 quilt-tops.  Spectrum News: NY1, and CBS also interviewed the founders of the organization, Dolores Weiner, Diane Pryor-Holland and Bertha Merriweather about our efforts to serve these families. Social media news clips are on our Facebook page.  Please check them out and like our FB page! Also, NYPD News wrote an article about our event, please click on or copy and paste the following link into your browser:  http://nypdnews.com/2018/10/memorial-quilts-honor-fallen-finest/
• Our next Labor of Love Quilting Bee is scheduled for March 2019 and we are super excited about it!
• October 2018 Labor of Love Quilting Bee Photos

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