In a tucked-away room of Discount Fabric Warehouse, just past the last row of colorful rows of Hawaiian-print fabrics, a small group assembled. Ziploc bags large enough to hold a sleeping bag sat full of fabric. In a back corner, someone was sorting through cut fabric, picking just the right color combinations. A sewing machine hummed.
The monthly blanketeering session for the Hilo chapter of Project Linus was underway.
The organization, a 501(c)(3) with chapters across the country, has a simple mission: provide brand-new, handmade blankets for kids in need. Maybe the kids are in for a stay at the emergency room, or maybe they’re in foster care. Maybe they just could use a little extra security, like the “Peanuts” character Linus, who is rarely seen without his trusty blue blanket.
Some blankets are quilted, others are knitted in chunky, colorful yarn. Some are fleece blankets with a touch of fringe on the end.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy — it just has to be good enough to snuggle with,” said chapter coordinator Kathleen Stacey. And the handmade part is key.
“(The kids) deserve something nice,” Stacey said. She crochets her blankets, and is currently working on one in “12 different shades of purple.”
Stacey has been involved since 2007, but Hilo’s Project Linus chapter has been around since the late 1990s.
It started as a class project, former coordinator Lynne Bautista said. Bautista’s oldest daughter was in 10th grade at the time, in 1998, and decided to start a Project Linus chapter for an English class assignment.
“There wasn’t anything in Hawaii at that time,” Bautista said. The English class collected about 400 blankets that first year.
Bautista’s younger daughter’s 4-H group later adopted Project Linus as its service project, continuing the family connection. Bautista was the chapter’s first coordinator and is still involved, particularly when it comes to finding kids who need blankets. If she hears about a family going through a challenging time, she’ll work with other community members to get a blanket delivered.
“You just have to keep your eyes open,” Bautista said.
Project Linus provides provides blankets to Kona Community Hospital and Hilo Medical Center. The group works with child welfare services, and with a hospice support group for kids who’ve lost family members. When Stacey has extra blankets, she brings them to the Salvation Army for its annual Angel Tree.
Stacey estimated that Project Linus gave away more than 200 blankets last year. This year, that number will likely be higher.
“I’ve been giving them away as fast as they come in,” Stacey said. “We’re really lucky that way — there are always at least a few blankets here.”
Bautista and Stacey put the total number of blankets given away since the chapter’s inception at more than 4,000.
Most people who make blankets (the “blanketeers,” in Project Linus parlance) never see the kids who receive the gifts.
“For some people, if you tell them it’s for children, that’s all they need to know,” Bautista said. Others get involved because their own child got a blanket once.
The room at Discount Fabric Warehouse has been home base for Project Linus since the group’s early years. The store is the drop-off site for blankets, and for fabric donations for future blankets. The chapter still needs to purchase some fabric and supplies (particularly batting, for the middle of quilts), and receives a discount on those goods as well.
“Bill (Miller) has been supportive from the beginning,” Bautista said.
The blankets all stay in Hawaii, with most remaining on the Big Island now that Honolulu has its own chapter. Project Linus accepts blankets year-round, but its biggest drive takes place Oct. 24.
For those who want to contribute, all sizes of blankets are needed. The standard blanket size is 40 inches by 60 inches. The minimum size accepted is 36 inches by 36 inches.
“It has to be recognizable as a blanket,” Stacey said.
Project Linus’ annual Blanket Drive takes place Oct. 24. Completed blankets can be brought to Discount Fabric Warehouse. For more information about the drive or Project Linus’ Hilo chapter, visit http://plhi.shutterfly.com.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.