The body’s physical and mental decline associated with aging varies from person to person, but common issues can be a decline in memory, difficulty learning new things and trouble focusing from one task to another.  Research shows that people who stay intellectually engaged are more likely to maintain their mental acuity.  Quilting has been done for years to provide warm blankets for families, but in the last few decades retirees have turned to quilting to help fill the time gap after retirement, to express creativity, and for the health benefits of relieving stress and increasing their social interaction.  Quilting has also been proven to help with the effects of aging since it is challenging, demands concentration and participants learn new skills.  The Jabez Quilt Seminar (JQS) is a state-wide quilting seminar held every January for the last 15 years.  The 5-day conference is planned and coordinated by an advisory council consisting of the Harlan County FCS Agent and eight others.  This past year 150 participants had the opportunity to attend 29 classes that were offered by instructors from across the country.  Attendees were challenged with quilt classes that improved their spatial reasoning, problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, color coordination and provide an opportunity to develop personal relationships.  As an added benefit we have learned that 27% of the attendees are family groups and use our conference to improve their intergenerational family relationships.  19% state that our conference provides a stress-free opportunity to connect with each other.  23% stated that the program allowed them to strengthen family bonds through shared experiences and memories.   In a written evaluation, participants reported the following as a direct result of attending the conference:

• 100% stated that the classes offered stimulated their learning
• 95% stated that they had learned something new and increased their skill level
• 96% stated that their confidence in themselves had been increased due to the program
• 98% stated that they will use the information learned for their personal satisfaction
• 99% stated that they will use the information learned to make future quilts
• 80% stated that they will use the information learned to teach others the art of quilting