Quilting has been a way to bring people together for generations, and now a local woman is using quilting to spread love and warmth all across the world.

Edith Gary decided to start a quilting circle with her sister Myra and her two daughters, Cathy and Shelia, as well as her own daughters Barbara and Karen, to bring the family together.

As they began quilting, they decided they wanted a purpose for their creations, and Edith decided to give the quilts way to charities all over the world.

"We wanted to do something or other because we were raised up to help other people," says Gary.

So far, more than one thousand quilts have been stitched together and given away.

Some have been sent to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti. In the states, quilts were sent to tornado victims in Joplin and in Allen County, Kentucky. More locally, the quilts have been given to the Barren River Area Safe Space (BRASS), the Bowling Green Medical Center, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and to the Kentucky State Police to keep in their vehicles to hand out to children in need.

Jonathan Biven of KSP has seen the effects of this small gift first hand in his work, "We have found that those victims will actually bring those quilts with them to court. It is kind of their security blanket."

Also, Girl Scout Troop #231 from Edmonson County will be taking 20 quilts to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville within the coming weeks.

For all of her hard work, Gary was named the Third District and the State Winner of the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association's "Volunteer of the Year Award" for 2012.

She is quick to point out, though, that she does have help with her quilts, and that this is more of a "we" project for her family.

For her volunteer work, we honor Edith Gary as a Hometown Hero.