Friendship is part of Wiscasset sorority Beta Sigma Phi’s motto. It’s also behind a yearly fundraiser that Beta Rho, one of the charitable group’s Wiscasset chapters, does for the American Cancer Society.

Quilts that members have been making and raffling off since 2012 honor the memory of fellow Beta Rho member Eileen Jones. 

Treasurer Martha Speed of Edgecomb came up with the idea for the project, when a tulip-selling fundraiser for the same cause yielded modest results. A quilter herself, Speed said she knew that quilt raffles can make good fundraisers.

The theory bore out. The quilt project raised a total of $2,325 in its first three years, Speed said.

“I’d like it to get $1,000 this year,” she said. “Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

The project starts in late winter when members gather materials based on a theme. This year’s called for colors that would fit with their bedrooms. Then members sew the quilt and sell tickets for chances on it at Windjammer Days and other area events.

Cyndy Lewis of Westport Island was one of the sellers at a table outside Ames Supply in Wiscasset on Saturday. As a newer member of the group, she didn’t know Jones as long as some did. But Jones’ positive attitude made an impression on her, she said.

“She was so upbeat and warm, nice, just the most incredible spirit,” Lewis said. “That was such an inspiration for me, on how to deal with life’s difficulties.”

In addition to the yearly quilt raffle, Beta Rho also keeps a garden of pink tulips going, called Eileen’s Garden, at Wiscasset Community Center, in memory of Jones. Members recently planted new bulbs and removed the garden’s plaque, as they do every year to protect it from the elements in winter.

Beta Rho is one of four Wiscasset-based chapters of Beta Sigma Phi, Beta Rho President Jan Whitfield said. The sorority is more than 80 years old; it’s an international social and service women's organization with 125,000 members across 15 countries, she said. 

Beta Sigma Phi members make new friends, help others and enrich their own lives, Whitfield said.

Beta Rho meets once or twice a month in members' homes, and has special events including Valentine’s and Founder’s Day dinners and a mystery ride for which members are told only the cost, how to dress and how long they’ll be gone. Along with the projects in Jones’ memory, the nine-member chapter prepares relief baskets for local families who have been through fires, Whitfield said.

For more on the chapter, or for information on raffle tickets for this year’s quilt, contact Whitfield at 207-882-7916. The drawing is Dec. 8.

Beta Rho plans to sell tickets outside Rock Paper Scissors on Main Street during this year’s Wiscasset Early Bird event on Nov. 14.