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Help Us Help Others!



Buy a Quilt! Help someone.

For the fifth year, Hen & Chicks Studio is selling the finished quilts we no longer use as store samples, with 100% of the proceeds going to a cause. Our 5th Annual Quilt Sale has come to an end. 

We are pleased to be donating $22,000 to ALS in 2023! Thank you to everyone who helped us set this incredible record for our 5th Annual Quilt Sale.

For our 2023 sale, we've selected to donate our sales to the ALS Association - Iowa Chapter in honor of Dr. Jim McMillan. Learn more about Jim below!
How Does Our Quilt Sale Work?

Our sale of finished store samples has come to a close for the 2023 5th Annual Quilt Sale. Watch our video below to learn how much we raised!


Atkinson Designs, Birthday Presents, Finished Store Sample, Quilts for a Cause, Quilt sale

Meet our honoree -- Dr. Jim McMillan

Iowa Pork Producers awarded Dr. Jim McMillan with the Master Pork Partner Award in 2022. The following was written as part of the presentation of this award.

As a veterinary student, Dr. Jim McMillan was told large-animal vets had no future. He ignored them, and today boasts a successful career that spans more than three decades.

McMillan, 58, attributes those early warnings to the economic farm crisis of the 1980s.

In spring 1993, his first veterinarian job was at a mostly cow-calf practice in southwest Iowa. But after about a year and a half, McMillan wanted more diversification, and particularly missed treating pigs. At that time, common swine ailments included transmissible gastroenteritis, bloody scours, pseudorabies, and mystery swine disease (now known as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS).

As he looked to move, he recalled meeting Dr. Don Dutler and Dr. Don Bowden while attending a national swine meeting his senior year of veterinary school. The two had told him about the Winthrop Veterinary Clinic, a mostly large-animal practice that specializes in dairy, beef, equine, and swine. McMillan reached out, they hired him in 1994, and he never left.

Being on farms daily gives McMillan a front-row seat promoting animal welfare and food safety, and helping producers succeed and achieve their goals is rewarding, McMillan says. His advocacy for the industry was recently recognized by the Buchanan County Pork Producers, who named him the 2022 Buchanan County Master Pork Partner — Veterinarian of the Year.

McMillan was raised on a diversified livestock and grain century farm north of Aurora. He earned an animal science degree from Iowa State University in Ames in 1987, then briefly worked in the feed industry before his acceptance into the Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine in fall 1989. He graduated with his doctorate in 1993.

Beyond his workday, McMillan volunteers at county fairs inspecting animals as they arrive. As a member of the Buchanan County Pork Producers, he’s worked several shifts at the group’s food stand at the county fair. In addition, he’s volunteered at an elementary school, helping students dissect pig hearts, as well as mentors aspiring veterinarians to encourage them to pursue a career in food animal medicine. He currently serves on a local bank board.

McMillan and his wife, Anne, live in Independence, Iowa, and have two grown children, Stephanie, 26, and Matthew, 24.

 

Dr. Jim McMillan, veterinarian, ALS, Iowa Veterinarian
Jim, Anne, Matthew and Stephanie McMillan

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Videos About Gratitude and ALS

Join Hen & Chicks Studio owner Heidi Kaisand and life coach Beth Montpas as they talk about taking on challenges with gratitude.
Join Heidi from Hen & Chicks Studio as she talks with Eric Grundfast and John Cronin from ALS Association. Listen in and learn more about ALS and how our quilt sale can help others. 
Our quilt sale honoree Dr. Jim McMillan and his family are staying focused on gratitude during the challenges the ALS diagnosis has brought to their family. Join Heidi from Hen & Chicks Studio as she chats with Pastor John Richter about gratitude. 
Join Hen & Chicks Studio owner Heidi Kaisand and pastor Marcy Stone as they talk about gratitude. Then visit our quilts for sale and help us raise money for ALS. 
Every dollar we raise during our 5th Annual Quilt Sale will make an impact for someone suffering from ALS. Learn more about the Quality of Life grant available for ALS patients. Learn more in this video.