When I was a little girl, I had a yellow blankie. I loved it. I took it everywhere. I couldn’t sleep without it. All my kids love their blankets too. Blankets exude comfort and warmth. And so I’m EXCITED to announce that I’m starting an organization called My Beloved Blanket. The purpose of this organization is to donate blankets to local police stations all over the country. I have known I was supposed to do this for many years. But you know why I haven’t started it yet? Because I listened to those negative voices that said: You can’t do that, you are not organized enough, your house it a mess, your laundry isn’t done, no one will help you, you’ve never started an organization before.
But I’m not listening to them anymore. There was two recent crashes in my city that really solidified in my heart that I need to do this now. I spoke to my local police station and they were THRILLED that I want to do this. They really, really need blankets. And not just in the winter when there are accidents, house fires, etc. But also in the summer. People go into shock, little ones still need a blanket for comfort after accidents, being removed from an unsafe family situation, etc.
So this is my plan. If you know of anyone looking for a small service activity for church, scouts, community service, please let them know about My Beloved Blanket. Have them contact me through email mybelovedblanket@gmail.com. Each blanket needs to be cut to 1.5 or 2 yards, washed, have edges finished(sewn or cut strips/tie knots, etc), and put into a plastic bag. This keeps the blankets nice and clean until they are ready for use. I will supply all the plastic bags. Just tell me how many you need and I’ll get them mailed out.
Fleece is on great sales next week at Joann’s and many other fabric stores.
- 60% off at Joann’s November 18-20th Plus there’s a coupon for $10 a total purchase of $50 or more.
- 3 yard pre-cut pieces online at Joann.com on sale for $8.09. If you bought 9 yards, even with shipping it would be just under $4/yard.
And because of the sales, I’m letting you all know now so you can purchase fleece at the cheapest price. I am not quite up and running with bags and labels, but I love getting things as cheaply as possible. Sometimes on black Friday stores will have cheap fleece blankets for $5-7. Those are great too! Not everyone likes to finish blanket edges. One tip though is to make sure they aren’t “too fluffy”. They might not fit into my bags. My goal is to be up and going in one week.
Thankfully my husband now has a lot of connections in China, so I am working with a vendor there to purchase left-over fleece in bulk quantities. Hopefully then the price will be closer to $2/yard instead of $4. But of course, this takes a while to get here.:)
So basically families or individuals looking for a simple service activity would gather fleece(1.5 or 2 yard pieces) or pre-made blankets. Wash them and then finish the edges as desired. Then you would let me know how many bags you need. I will mail out the bags, or if you are local you can also pick them up at my home. And then you can deliver them to your local police station for the officers to keep in their vehicles. It doesn’t need to be a lot. Even if your family wanted to donate one blanket. That is one more person who knows someone cares.
I hope you’ll join me in helping those in crisis. Head on over to my website that I linked to above. We can make a difference one blanket at a time.
Life is Good. Share the Good.
PS the featured image on this post (and the image at the bottom since the featured image is finicky!) is my two oldest, who are now 17 and 15!
PSS If you just want to drop fleece off to me, just email me, and I will arrange a time. I will be hosting blanket making nights hopefully in the near future. Times to be announced.:) Please spread the word! You don’t need to do a lot. But if many people donate one blanket, that adds up to a lot. THANK YOU!
Awaiting Rainbows 