Randall Mitchell, 68 years old, believes he finally found his purpose and the reason he felt compelled to retire and begin quilting. According to WFAA, he retired from Verizon in 2005 after experiencing “a calling from God” to start quilting.
So, that’s what he did, with his wife Charlene by his side. Last year, his true purpose in quilting revealed itself when he was asked to help provide 622 quilts: one for every student in the Texas foster care system who is graduating high school.
The Mitchells remained on standby, waiting to find the meaning behind Randall’s new quilting adventure. Sixteen years after he retired, 21-year-old college student Hunter Beaton sent Mitchell an email that forever changed his life.
Beaton lives close to San Antonio and had established a non-profit organization in 2016, called Day 1 Bags. The organization provides new backpacks and duffle bags to children who are living in the foster care system when they graduate from high school. According to the website for Day 1 Bags, these bags help to start their adult life and bring them “a sense of dignity and hope.”
Beaton explained, “Many times, children are given trash bags instead of essential supplies, essential luggage whenever they’re moving from home to home.” But for the 2022 graduates, Beaton elected to search for a more personal gift to give, and that’s how he found Randall Mitchell from Murchison — three hundred miles away — and learned about his love of making quilts.
In about three months, Mitchell and the group of Texan quilters he gathered have almost met their goal. According to the Texas Quilter’s Group on Facebook, each student in Texas will receive a twin-sized quilt and a pillowcase to begin their journey into adulthood. “It’s incredible… the amount of personal touch that a quilt can give is just absolutely incredible and I know that they are going to be like, ‘wow, these people do actually care about me’,” Beaton said.
Mitchell has found his purpose in giving the quilts that he makes to those who need them. “I said, ‘God, you have answered this [question about my purpose] through this email from this young man… and these kids is a big part of it,” Mitchell expressed.