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
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❘
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.