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December 9, 2020
Hello Friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We hope each of you are doing well and staying safe and healthy. Even though this year has been so different, you all have been so supportive of our Project Linus chapter and we appreciate each of you so much! We haven’t been able to distribute as many blankets as in the past but when we do get a request for blankets, we are able to fill that need thanks to having a good stock of blankets on hand. A huge thank you to each of you who makes that possible!
We do hope to plan a Blanket Day event in late spring or early summer, but of course that will depend on local regulations in place at the time. Hopefully we’ll be able to gather again in 2021!
Fondly,
Penny Sweet, Chapter coordinator
Laura Eanes, Assistanty
October 27, 2020
Hello Friends,
Thanks to everyone who came on Saturday to the Blanket Drop-off Day! It was great seeing some familiar faces!
We had 31 people drop off blankets and we now have 182 new blankets for children. Thanks to all, especially those that helped organize the day, especially Bev Sutton, Laura Eanes and Regina Howard. Thanks to Dottie McKinnon, Regina, Laura and Bette Wright who agreed to sew on labels and get the new blankets ready for distribution.
A big thank you to Sew Biz for donating 5 bolts of fabric and allowing us to use a portion of their parking lot and to Joann’s for our use of their parking lot and their generous donation of batting last month. Happy and Healthy Holidays to all!
Fondly,
Penny
Facebook: NRV Project Linus
Hello Friends,
The National Office of Project Linus just announced the semi-annual ordering period for branded T-shirts and sweatshirts. These orders are taken for 2 weeks and the products will ship out the week of November 23rd. You can order now through 10/26 at midnight at this link: www.projectlinusshop.org
Please note this is NOT the Project Linus store from the web site, this is the storefront for the company that produces these shirts. Two new t-shirts and a new zip-up jacket have been added. To see all the items, please click on T-shirts or Sweatshirts at the top of the page.
Each person who would like Project Linus-branded gear is welcome to place their own order.
Fondly,
Penny Sweet, Chapter Coordinator
Laura Eanes, Assistant
8/28/20
Students distributing Project Linus materials
Blankets for Sleep in Heavenly Peace Project
The first beds have been delivered by “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” NRV chapter and they included two 2 of our Project LInus blankets! The chapter president, Paul Mele, was so pleased to find two of our blankets that matched the bed linens (you can see in the attached picture). Sleep in Heavenly Peace is open and ready to accept orders for beds. The NRV chapter website is https://www.shpbeds.org/chapter/va-new-river-valley. Check them out and help spread the word about this terrific service!
June 30, 2020
Good morning Friends,
Thanks to everyone who contributed to our Blanket Drop-off recently! We had lots of folks drive by and it was great seeing each one! We took in 154 new blankets, which is double the amount from last June’s drop-off. Thank you for helping us continue to supply wonderful, new handmade blankets to children in need in the NRV!
A few pictures are on our NRV Project Linus Facebook page showing a sampling of the great work that our NRV Blanketeers can do!
Visit https://www.facebook.com/NRV-Project-Linus-327425308672/. to see more pictures from the drop off day.
For quilters who enjoy participating in mystery quilt challenges, details on the 2020 Project Linus Mystery Quilt Challenge will be released in July! This is a great project to participate in annually and is the largest fundraiser for Project Linus all year! You can follow information on the national Project Linus website (www.projectlinus.org) or on the Challenge Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/848183768557929/.
We will keep you updated if plans develop for a Fall Blanket Day – right now, there are no plans for a Blanket Day event. Stay safe and well, and keep making those beautiful blankets for NRV children!
Fondly,
Penny Sweet, Chapter Coordinator
Laura Eanes, Assistant
NRV Project Linus was fortunate to receive a grant from Fairlawn WalMart this year! A picture is attached showing Penny with some great WalMart employees and friends of Project Linus. We certainly are grateful to be chosen for this grant! Thank you Walmart!
A LETTER FROM OUR COORDINATORS
6/04/2020
Hello Friends,
We have been thinking of each of you and hope you are doing well and staying safe at home as much as possible during this unusual time. Our Project Linus chapter has a birthday this month – 20 years ago, Penny brought the magic of Project Linus to Radford and the New River Valley, and it has just grown and grown! We cannot tell you how much we value our Blanketeers for without you, there would be no blankets to share with those in need in our local area! You have blessed so many with your knitting, sewing, and crocheting and endless support of our chapter. Thank you, thank you, a million times over!
Just this week, Penny received two requests from agencies that needed blankets. There are special regulations to follow, of course, but we were able to re-supply some locations and hopefully more will begin accepting blankets very soon. In light of that, we will be holding a drop-off day for any blankets that you have ready and would like to turn in. We will not be holding a regular Blanket Day event.
On June 20, we’ll be at the two locations below to pick up finished blankets. Just look for the maroon van with “Blanket Lady” license plates!
Grove United Methodist Church (1020 Tyler Avenue, Radford) parking lot, 10 am – 12 noon
Joann Fabrics, Christiansburg parking lot, 2 pm – 4 pm
If you don’t follow us on Facebook, you may not have seen the news – today our National President, Patty Gregory, announced that as of this morning, Project Linus chapters across the nation have delivered 8,019,901 blankets to children in need!! Thank you to each of you who have helped to make that possible!!
A couple of other items to note – as of now, we don’t have any definite plan for a Blanket Day in the fall. We will keep everyone posted if we are able to schedule an event. Also, Michele’s Beauty Shop in Radford is no longer a drop off location for blankets due to Michele’s retirement.
We sincerely appreciate each one of you who makes blankets for our chapter! We look forward to seeing some of you on June 20th and hope that we can gather again as a group very soon! Stay safe and well!
Fondly,
Penny Sweet, Chapter Coordinator
Laura Eanes, Assistant
October 2020
Current Statistics for NRV PROJECT LINUS
Blankets received July – September 2020 – 231
Blankets distributed July- September – 379
Total Blankets Distributed since NRV Project Linus inception – 42,903
Would you like to learn a special skill??
NRV Project Linus provides weighted blankets to children with special needs. These blankets retail for between $100-$250 making it totally inaccessible for most children in need. We have an expert weighted blanket artisan who can’t wait to share her skills with someone who would like to learn to assist with this special project. Materials are provided but you would need to own a sewing machine and have basic sewing skills. Please contact Penny Sweet if you are interested.
PROJECT LINUS DID YOU KNOW?
- Karen Loucks started Project Linus on December 24,1995. The New River Valley-Radford Chapter begin in June, 2000.
- Project Linus nationally has been alive for 6.942 days as of January 1.2017
- Project Linus nationally has had non-profit status since May 12, 1997
- The New River Valley-Radford Chapter of Project Linus donated 2,441 blankets in 2016. Since we started, we have delivered 33,467 blankets!
- Project Linus nationally has officially collected over 6,063,751 blankets as of January 1, 2017. If 60% of them are fabric, that translated into over 10,914,751 yards of fabric. If 40% are afghans, that is over 19,404,003 skeins of yarn.
- If each blanket is an average of 60: long, and we laid them end to end, they would stretch 30,318,755 feet or 5,742 miles. That is as tall as 1,44 Mt. Everests, or 17,071 One World Trade Centers or 24,255 Empire State Buildings or as long as 101,062 football fields.
Project Linus was named after the adorable security blanket-toting character from the Peanuts© comic strip. Creator Charles Schulz was aware of our efforts and was delighted to have Linus inspire blanket makers to help comfort children in need.
Project Linus began in December 1995 after Karen Loucks was inspired to make blankets for her local children’s cancer center. Since then, Project Linus has expanded to include children who are seriously ill or traumatized in many ways.
MISSION STATEMENT
Project Linus is a volunteer non-profit organization with a two-fold mission:
FIRST, it is our mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
SECOND, it is our mission to provide rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.
Anyone, any age, can help these children. It is within your power to make a difference.
Nearly 400 chapters of Project Linus exist nationally, with more than 4,000,000 blankets donated to children.