Kol Ami day of service

We recently received some beautiful fleece blankets made by Kol Ami.  We so appreciate your donation & love the picture showing everyone working away!  Thank you...

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865571124/Congregation-Kol-Ami-holds-day-of-service-in-honor-of-Martin-Luther-King-Jr.html

January 2013 newsletter

Jan 1, 2013                                           Blankets delivered: 10011

Dear Blanketeers,

Welcome to the new Blanketeers who have joined our chapter during the past month, we’re so glad to have you with us and hope you’ll love Project Linus as much as we do.   We have received some beautiful blankets this month as a results of friends & families coming together for Christmas service projects.  Such a great tradition & we appreciate each & every one.

I have exciting news!! We have delivered more than 10,000 blankets since the chapter was started!!  I love this milestone & such an amazing accomplishment!  I'm so happy & excited!  Thank you to each & every one of you who helped make this possible.  We are a very dedicated group & collectively we make a HUGE impact!  As our chapter enters its 7th year, we are very excited to keep moving forward to making a difference in the lives of children, who could use a little extra comfort in a trying time. 

“Make a Blanket Day” for the north VALLEY WILL be monday, jan 7 ... come join us at Our Saviour’s Lutheran church 3900 S. 2500 E. in holladay, From 10-2.   Bring your lunch – we have a wonderful time!!

The next South Valley “Make a Blanket Day” will be tuesday, jan 15 at the South Jordan Library from 10:15 – 2:00.  this monthly meeting may shift to every other month or quarterly.  if you have any input, please email us at: slcprojectlinus@gmail.com

In an effort to keep our blankets local, we need to let you all know that we are shifting our military project to benefit Fisher House.  Fisher House provides a place to stay for injured military personnel seeking treatment at the local VA  sometimes their familes are with them.  The blankets we make (not required to be military prints) are given to them to take back to their children or grandchildren as a gift of support during this time of  healing.  their emblem motto is:  "Helping Military Families".  Millie took a few blankets when she went to visit the facility & we received a thank you card:  "Thank you and the members of your chapter for the wonderful, wonderful blankets that you made for the Fisher House.  Our Guests and volunteers alike still comment on them.  The veteran and military family guests really appreciate being remembered."  Signed by "Friends of the Fisher House"  A  note is enclosed with each blanket that it is a gift for their children.

We know TAPS has been near & dear to many of you, but it wasn't until last year that it became evident that the blankets were not all being given to children & the time, effort and financial support required to ship the blankets was overwhelming.  We are excited that we can have an ongoing place to blankets to be delivered & not just a big push or crazy accumulation of blankets.   This will also save our chapter the costs of shipping blankets out of state & keep them all local.  If you have any additional ideas for donating to our military children, please let us know & we'll see what other options are available.

Pat & Myrna

Blanketeer spotlight!    Myrna Paxton and Pat McGraw – two friends, sometimes mistaken for sisters, who share a passion for Linus Blankets.  In the past year they have made more than 200 blankets for our chapter.   Their work is exceptional!  They are always careful to shop for the finest large pieces of fleece, and they use the softest of yarns.  They find the beautiful patterns by searching and ordering on line, or shopping carefully in the local fabric shops.  They crochet every day!  But, that’s not all these friends do.  Their grand children get a lot of attention and they always treat themselves to “sister time.”  They go to lunch, walk in the park, and bowl regularly.  Their enthusiasm for life and service is an inspiration.  Thank you Myrna and Pat!  

Just a note – we talk a lot about making fleece blankets but we dearly love crocheted and knitted blankets as well as quilts.  So where ever your talents lie we would love to receive your gifts of love.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to Project Linus in Salt Lake County.  Whether you make blankets, sew labels on, package blankets, donate funds for shipping and stamps, or donate paper, yarn or fabric, each one of you helps to grow our chapter so we may give a little bit of love and security to a child in crisis. 

Wishing you all the best in 2013!  We hope to see you soon!

Kristin, Millie & Melissa

slcprojectlinus@gmail.com

801-386-5917

North Valley blanket day & Christmas luncheon 2012

Bernie tried to hide behind the centerpiece

lunch & some blanket making too!

we can't let Kathy go far, so grateful she's still helping us make blankets!

Shop with a Cop - S. Jordan

The children took their blankets shopping with them.  I love seeing children "hug" their blankets!  Thank you to all the blanketeers who made this project possible.  You each make such a difference in the life of a child!

Shop with a Cop 2012

• 
  Blanketeers, warming hearts and bodies

  South Valley Journal 11/29/2012
  
  By Nathaniel Bingaman
  
  
  
  
  
  Volunteers recently made blankets for Shop with a Cop participants.

“Blanketeers” will take the place of elves for some children this Christmas season.
The South Jordan Police Department has requested 110 blankets to give to children as part of its participation in the annual Shop with a Cop event.
A national nonprofit organization called Project Linus has been asked to make blankets for Shop with a Cop. The mission of the group is to provide homemade blankets for children in need.
Shop with a Cop will take place on Dec. 8. The event partners up a child ages 4 to 8 with a police officer. The cop then escorts the child around a department store to purchase gifts for the participant’s family.  This year, each of the children will also receive their own blanket.
Kristan Vance, coordinator of the Salt Lake County Chapter of Project Linus, said she put her best people, or “Blanketeers” as the blanket makers are called, on the South Jordan project.
“It’s rewarding to get together with others who have a common purpose,” she said.
Volunteers from all over the valley of different ages, genders and beliefs came together to complete this project before Thanksgiving. Groups from the Friday Women’s Fellowship, Country Park Second Ward, the Jordan Parkway Ward, Mountain Vista United Methodist Church, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church and many individual South Jordan residents came together to make 110 blankets.
On average, each blanket made by the group cost $10. This year, the Shop with a Cop program donated the money needed for the blankets.  Along with each blanket, the child receives a card with a poem and the name of the person who made their blanket.  Vance said the card stock material used to make those cards was donated anonymously.
Vance is in her third year as coordinator. She loves getting feedback from parents and children and enjoys being able to make a difference to those who receive the blankets.
One of the volunteers explained why she gave of her time and talents to this project.
“You never know where the blanket will go, or the arms it will end up in,” Kathy Morrow, a volunteer who enjoys “Blanketeering” said.

Kristin's corrections....Kristin's one year anniversary as coordinator for our chapter will be February 2013 & I've been involved with Project Linus atleast 3 years (I can't remember when Edrie introduced me to Kathy)  Kathy, our amazing previous coordinator, started the chapter in January 2007, so we will soon celebrate our 6th anniversary & are getting close to 10,000 blankets delivered.  The individual residents who helped with blankets live all over Salt Lake County.

Ditzy Chicks

a great day for making lots & lots of blankets!

friends, food & blanket making!  Thank you ladies for all your work & 30 blankets completed for South Jordan's Shop with a Cop event!

December newsletter

Nov 25, 2012                                       Blankets delivered:    9905      

 Dear Blanketeers,

 Welcome to the new Blanketeers who have joined our chapter during the past month, we’re so glad to have you with us and hope you’ll love Project Linus as much as we do.   Be sure and let Kristin, Melissa or Millie know if you have any questions.

“Make a Blanket Day” for the north VALLEY WILL be Monday december 3rd... come join us at Our Saviour’s Lutheran church 3900 S. 2500 E, holladay From 10am-2pm. 

  (801) 278-1412

south valley make a blanket day has been cancelled for december

i hope everyone can join us in north valley for our christmas lunch & dessert.  We'll get some blanket making done, but enjoy some time for visiting and to support the 2nd part of project linus' mission: to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for the benefit of children.  if any south valley ladies want to carpool, contact kristin

A nOTE FROM HEADQUARTERS to chapter coordinators:

I just want to take a quick moment in the hustle bustle of this Thanksgiving Eve to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I have so much to be grateful for, and right up there is my work with Project Linus and my association and friendship with all of you. I'm thankful for your continued support (and patience) and for all the work you do to bring comfort and love to children. Thank you for joining with me in furthering the Project Linus mission.
Whatever your plans for the holiday, I hope you have a great day. I count you among my most treasured blessings.
Carol Babbitt

So much to be thankful for this week.  I hope you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving & were able to spend it with family or friends.  I'm also excited to share that were able to do some extra deliveries this month for Christmas.  We regularly deliver to Neighborhood House and this month we added some extras for their book & blanket night event in December.  We are also delivering to Lutheran Social Services for the younger children for Christmas.  It makes my heart feel so good that we can reach out to others this holiday season.  Thank you for all of your extra work and dedication to our chapter.  Each of your contributions make a huge difference as a whole.

Thank to all who helped complete the Shop with a Cop service project.  We were very fortunate to receive the funding for the materials and many helping hands came together to complete 110 blankets in just a few weeks.  We gathered some extra groups and project days to pull it all together.  Thank you to our North Valley & South Valley ladies...you are so dedicated!  Thank you to the students of Rowland Hall, Our Saviour's Lutheran Church ladies, Mountain Vista United Methodist Church ladies & Jean Ann, Country Park 2nd Ward & Kari, Charing Cross Ward, Women's Fellowship, Jordan Parkway Ward,  Paige & Andrea Shipman & the Ditzy Chicks.

There's a group of ladies that call themselves "The Ditzy Chicks" and they whipped out 30 fringed blankets in a happy work day that included lunch, hours of visiting, and the satisfaction of creating something lasting for kids.  One of the Ditzie’s, Beverly Cook, is also an accomplished poet.  She was very touched by the project and sent her reactions in the form of a poem for us all.  Here are some of her stanzas.

                        THE GIFT OF LINUS BLANKETS

                        Caring and willing women

                                    prepare,  plait,  and tie

                                    fringes on fleece blankets.

                        Their happy flying fingers create

                                    blankets that cling and caress

                                    soft and warm – to ward off fright.

                        The blankets bring smiles and comfort

                                    to the often forgotten ones

                                    and a twinkle to the eyes of ladies.

Keep a close eye on our blankets donated number...we are so close to 10,000!  Our chapter was started by Kathy in January 2007, so I know we'll meet that milestone before our 6th anniversary!

Hugs to you ,

Kristin, Melissa & Millie