IN West County Winter 2019 | Page 12

HAPPINESS IS A WARM BLANKET At Camp Fitch, children of Wounded Warriors receive blankets as they go through the registration line. I n Charles M. Schulz’s popular books, Peanuts characters define happiness in different ways: a warm puppy, a pile of leaves, and a good report card. But to Linus, the source of happiness and security is a blanket. Since 1995, when a young leukemia patient inspired Project Linus’ founder Karen Loucks to make blankets for Denver’s Rocky Mountain Children’s Cancer Center, her idea has swept the nation. Today, Project Linus “blanketeers” in all 50 states provide happiness, security, warmth and comfort to newborns and children who are ill, traumatized or otherwise in need. JoAnn Burkhart, coordinator of the Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of Project Linus, says the local chapter— now in its 21st year—has given nearly 50,000 blankets to children from newborn to age 18. “That’s a tremendous milestone and a tribute to our blanketeers,” she notes. A community member recently asked Burkhart about the organization’s mission, questioning why hospitals and other organizations need Project Linus donations. “I told him, yes, hospitals have blankets,” Burkhart says, “but they don’t have blankies.” Besides, a blanket from Project Linus is the child’s to keep forever. Northwest PA blanketeers make and donate blankets to kids throughout Erie, Crawford, Mercer and Warren counties plus Chautauqua County in New York. Monthly blanket donations provide warmth and comfort to children, including babies in newborn and neonatal intensive care units, at St. Vincent, Hamot and Millcreek hospitals in Erie County. Additionally, the local chapter 10 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE ❘ The Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of Project Linus donates handmade blankets to area children in need of warmth and comfort . BY BERNADETTE WILSON periodically donates blankets to about 30 organizations, such as the Bethesda Children’s Home, The Caring Place, the Office of Children and Youth Services, the Crime Victims Center, Mercy Center for Women, SafeNet, and Sarah Reed Children’s Home. It also takes blankets to Camp Corral, a camp for children of wounded warriors at Camp Fitch in North Springfield, handing out blankets as kids pass through the registration line. That’s one of the only chances Project Linus JoAnn Burkhart sharing information about Project Linus at a mall fundraiser. icmags.com blanketeers have to meet recipients of their handiwork. “At all the other places we go, we literally just put them on the counter,” Burkhart says. MADE WITH LOVE AND CARE Since blanketeers never know which child will receive the blankets they make, they use their imaginations and creativity to produce beautiful knitted, crocheted, quilted and no-sew, fleece-tied blankets that will delight children and brighten their days.