Documents

Here are some useful documents relating to the Hunterdon and Warren Counties Project Linus chapter.

Guidelines for organizations delivering blankets to children:    Project Linus has some rules about delivering blankets to children.  This document is to be delivered to each blanket receiving organization. 

Project Linus is a heartwarming initiative that provides handmade blankets to children in need. These cozy blankets are lovingly crafted by volunteers and distributed to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need of comfort. Here are some key details about Project Linus:

Recipients: The recipients of Project Linus blankets include:

• Children aged 0 to 18 in the United States.

• Those who are seriously ill, traumatized, or in need of a warm embrace.

• Originally, Project Linus donated blankets to pediatric cancer patients, but now it extends its care to any child in need.

Local Distribution: Project Linus operates through chapters in every state. These local chapters ensure that the blankets reach children in their respective communities. Most children receive Project Linus blankets through local hospitals, shelters, or other agencies. If you know of a child in crisis who may not receive a blanket through these facilities, you can locate the nearest Project Linus chapter and make contact.  Our blankets are intended for children living in either Hunterdon or Warren Counties.

Volunteer Efforts: Local volunteers play a crucial role in fulfilling Project Linus’s mission. They create, organize, and deliver the blankets, spreading warmth and comfort to children across the nation.  For information pertaining to the Hunterdon & Warren Counties Project Linus chapter, please contact:

Chapter Coordinator: Diane P

(908) 391-0578

Project Linus is a beautiful example of how small acts of kindness can make a big difference in the lives of children facing adversity.

Guidelines on how to host a successful Make a Blanket Day event.  Make a Blanket Day is one of the most useful and rewarding days of the for our Project Linus chapter.  We get to meet new people and add new members to our team.  We also add a lot of material resources to our stock.  Most import of all, we get to share our mission with the general public to make them aware of what we do.  Here is how we do it.

How to Put Together a Make a Blanket Day Event

By Apolonia

Hello fellow blanketeers! Here are my notes on how to put together a Make a Blanket event for our chapter. Feel free to copy these steps, or adjust them based on your needs for future events.

1. Pick a Date For Your Make a Blanket Day

Make sure the date is on a Saturday in either January, February or March while it is still cold out and best suited for indoor activities.

Get buy-in from chapter members so they can support the event.

Make sure the venue, the Bloomsbury Fire House, is available for the event.

2. Hold Mini-Workshops Demonstrating Blanketing Techniques

(This step is optional, but it did result in helping to get the word out about the main event).

Schedule several workshops with either church groups, scouts, youth groups, nursing homes, etc.

Invite people to attend to workshops.

Plan to demonstrate a blanket making technique for new comers, or to compare with other blanket makers.

3. Advertise the Make a Blanket Day Event

Make posters and hang them up in public places such as churches, food stores, craft stores, convenience stores, schools, restaurants, arcades – any place where there is a wall! Make sure to ask for permission first.

Write an ad for Treasure Hunt and submit it online at www.treasurehunt.online for free under their community events section. Here is what I submitted: Make a Blanket Day Open House – Everyone is invited to join us! Saturday, March 16 10AM – 2PM (Come and go all day!) at Bloomsbury Fire House, East Street entrance, Bloomsbury, NJ 08804 Learn how to make blankets. Drop off completed blankets. Drop off donations. Refreshments. Door prizes. Contact Diane Plugfelder@gmail.com for additional information. Project Linus Providing Security Through Blankets Hunterdon & Warren Counties, NJ Chapter. We meet at the Bloomsbury Firehouse on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7pm.

Submit an ad to the Hunterdon County news at NJ.com. (I tried this but I was not very successful. They kept passing my article around but it was never printed).

Contact News 69 for a live broadcast. Let them know in advance! They did not make it to our event but they ran a story after the event and used photos from our event. (See link on home page).

Place ads in local church bulletins.

4. Go to Stores to Ask For Donations

This was actually a lot of fun! It was sort of like trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Make a list of stores you would like to visit for supplies. Sort them out by location so you can visit several stores during one trip.

Write up a generic letter announcing yourself and list the items you are seeking to have donated. This is VERY important! When you visit the store, ask to speak to the store manager to speak about a donation request for Project Linus. When you speak to manager, shake his/her hand and smile when you speak. Tell them what you are after and let the manager know the store carries the product(s) you are seeking. Provide the manager with a copy of your letter. This is so they can actually see your list and to show you are legitimate. A LOT of managers will ask you to go to their corporate website to make the request. Let them know that you are simply seeking a small donation of between $35 and $50 worth of product. You will be surprised how many managers change their minds and make a donation.

Here’s a copy of my letter:

February 24, 2024

Hello,

My name is Apolonia . I am a Girl Scout from Troop 32083 from the Heart of New Jersey, Hunterdon and Warren Counties and I am working on my Gold Award project. My project title is Blanket the World With Love and I am working in unison with our local Project Linus chapter, also of Hunterdon and Warren Counties, and also a charitable organization that helps provide blankets to children in need.

My Gold Award project is to alert people in our locality about Project Linus in order to gain support by either adding new members or by helping to distribute blankets to children in need or by getting people and businesses to donate to our organization.

We will be hosting a Blanket Making Day on March 16th at the Bloomsbury Firehouse located on East Street in Bloomsbury, NJ from 10:00AM to 2:00PM. We are soliciting local businesses seeking their support by helping us make this Make a Blanket Day a success by helping us to announce the event and by donating the following supplies:

Yarn (non-wool)

Quilting Materials

Fleece

Thread

Needles

Knitting Needles

Crochet Needles

Scissors

Material

Cash

Gift Cards

We accept donations both big and small and for any amount. All sponsors will be listed as sponsors at our Make a Blanket Event and at some news/press releases. I stopped by at the Phillipsburg, NJ store this weekend and the manager suggested I reach out to the corporate office for support.

I want to thank you in advance for your generous support in helping children in our community find comfort from people who care.

Sincerely,

Apolonia

Visit multiple stores. Even stores that don’t carry craft supplies have other items that will be useful (such as fleece blankets, tape, paper and items for the door prizes table).

For those stores that require you to visit their web page, you may need to fill out a form. Use the above verbiage and format it as necessary.

Here is a list of stores I visited and the results for each:

Shop Rite – visit web page and complete form. They supplied sandwiches, salads, water and dressing.

Stop and Shop – speak with Store Manager. He supplied a $50 gift card used for plates, cups, soft drinks, utensils, snacks.

Walmart (Flemington) – speak with Store Manager. Supplied $35 gift card used for fleece purchase.

Walmart (Pburg) – speak with Store Manager. Supplied $50 gift card used for fleece purchase.

Big Lots – speak with Store Manager. Supplied $50 worth of fleece.

Ocean State Job Lot – directed to web site and make corporate request. Have not heard back yet.

Michael’s Craft – direct to web site and make corporate request. Michael’s has their own charity they provide support to and will not support other charities.

Hobby Lobby – directed to web site and make corporate request. Have not heard back yet.

Dollar Tree – directed to web site and make corporate request. Have not heard back yet.

Go early! Do not wait until a week before the event! A lot of times the manager needs to get approval from his corporate office.

5. Team Support

Remember: You are a part of a pretty big team! You do not have to do everything yourself! Ask for help from your team members. “Many hands make light work.” Here is a list of areas you can ask for support for:

Blanket Day Greeter

Tables and Chairs Setup Team

Food Table Manager

Coffee Maker

Door Prizes Table

Quilt Instructor

Knitting Instructor

Fleece Blanket Instructor

Crochet Instructor

Clean-up Team

Packers and Sorters

Blanket Baggers (Leader)

Tag Sewers

Someone to pick up food at store

Someone to put up direction signs on the street corners

It is best to assign most of these positions prior to the event.

6. Thank You Letters and Newspaper Write-up

Don’t forget to write thank you letters to all of those stores and people who donated supplies.

Write a nice article for the newspaper to cover the event. This may lead to people who couldn’t make it to the event to show up the next year.