DRAWING PRIZE — Individuals with Basil’s Sports Bar and Grill and CHANGE Inc. Comfort House Child Advocacy Center stood with a quilt, made from Crown Royal bags, that will be given to benefit Comfort House. From left are Pete Basil, owner of Basil’s Sports Bar and Grill; Carla Morris, the quilt’s creator; Danielle Stroud, Comfort House program manager and forensic interviewer, and Stacey Moore, Comfort House community outreach specialist. -- Christopher Dacanay

WEIRTON — Crown Royal fans won’t want to miss Basil’s Sports Bar and Grill’s drawing for a quilt, made from the Canadian whisky brand’s signature bags, the proceeds from which will benefit the CHANGE Inc. Comfort House Child Advocacy Center.

Pete Basil, owner of the Marshaling Yard Drive restaurant, said the community has been supportive of his business, so it felt right to give back to a local cause through the drawing. Comfort House is aimed at providing kids with a safe and non-intimidating environment during investigations of alleged abuse or neglect.

Tickets are being sold at $10 each and can be purchased at Basil’s. The drawing will be June 29, and if all 1,000 tickets are sold, Comfort House will receive $10,000 toward covering non-grant-funded expenses.

Over time, Basil’s had acquired a lot of the bags, which come with every bottle of Crown Royal Canadian whisky, Basil said, noting that different bag colors correspond to different flavors.

“We’ve been here 10 years, so imagine how many Crown Royal bags we have because people like Crown Royal. So, as we accumulated the bags we were sitting there one day and said, ‘We’ve got to do something with these bags.'”

Pete Basil and his son, Peter Basil, recalled hearing about an individual who created a quilt out of T-shirts. Inspired, they began looking for a local craftsperson to construct a Crown Royal bag quilt.

A friend referred the Basils to Carla Morris of Follansbee, who’s been making quilts for a decade and posts her creations on social media. Morris took on the task of incorporating the bags into a quilt, a process which took about a month.

The final product utilizes 45 bags, has a golden snake skin pattern on the front and is tied together with champagne bubble stitching. With the quilt done, the Basil’s next idea was to use the item for good by holding a drawing for it and giving the proceeds to a good cause.

“One of things we came up with is that you cannot possibly turn down a charity that works to help kids, and that’s what they (Comfort House) do.”

Located at 3245 West St., Weirton, Comfort House is a “child-friendly atmosphere where there’s a coordinated response” to possible child abuse or neglect, said Danielle Stroud, the agency’s program manager and forensic interviewer.

As a child advocacy center, Comfort House is where a forensic interview may take place when police or child protective services believe a child has been abused or neglected, Stroud said. Comfort House assembles a multi-disciplinary team for a coordinated response, so interviews with the child can all be done under one roof and the child doesn’t have to tell the same story repeatedly. The conversation is recorded and used as evidence for the investigation.

Additionally, when speaking with the child’s family members, Comfort House’s team asks about and seeks to address their other needs — food, medical or mental health, to name a few. Representatives may also help prepare children for court, such as through tours of the courthouse, so the experience isn’t overwhelming.

Comfort House is also focused on prevention and education Stroud said, noting that representatives will conduct training for law enforcement and host community events on topics like body safety.

Comfort House is a branch of CHANGE Inc., a community action agency serving Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall Counties in West Virginia and Jefferson County in Ohio, in addition to surrounding communities. As part of CHANGE Inc., Comfort House can collaborate with other agencies under its umbrella, Stroud said.

Comfort House’s work is mostly funded through grants, but some expenses like snacks and water for interviewees and some resource materials are not covered by grants, Stroud said, so having financial support from the raffle will help to “fill in those gaps where our main funding doesn’t cover.”

CHANGE, Inc. is a community action agency that serves northern West Virginia (Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, and Marshall Counties) and Jefferson County, Ohio as well as surrounding communities providing various programs and services to those in need.

Basil’s Sports Bar and Grill shares Comfort House’s love for kids, Basil said, noting the restaurant’s history of supporting youth by sponsoring local baseball teams. Basil’s also awards yearly scholarships to a male and female who participated in sports and will be attending college.

With hundreds of bags still left over, Basil said he hopes the drawing can be a success and pave the way for another offering next year, supporting a new cause.