After the New Year’s celebrations wrap up, many will make their resolutions for 2024. In Sun City, many opportunities for volunteerism are available. The Sun City Sew N Sews charter club has groups that provide community and worldwide services. In 2023, one of the club groups, Sun City Project Linus, reached a milestone to celebrate.
Nationally, Project Linus started in 1995 after Karen Loucks read an article about a child with leukemia. The child was given a blanket that helped to ease the pain of intensive chemotherapy. Project Linus gets its name from the blanket-toting Linus van Pelt from the comic strip Peanuts. The organization gives a security blanket to children who are ill, homeless, in foster care, or who have been traumatized. Since its creation, over 4 million blankets have been donated nationwide.
Charleen Kelly said, “I started the Sun City Project Linus 23 years ago. I read an article in the paper about the project before I moved here, and I started making a few blankets with scrap material. When I moved here, I started the group with ten of us.”
Betty Casey, one of the chapter’s founding coordinators, said, “At that time, we would complete the quilt from start to finish. The first year, we made sixty quilts. We donated the fabric to make the quilts at that time.”
Over the years, the group has grown to 35 members. Marilyn McIntyre said, “Our Linus Project Group completed over 20,000 blankets for Chicago area kids. This is a significant milestone for us.”
Kelly said, “We meet in the sewing room every Thursday to cut, iron, pin, sew, and bind quilts.”
Casey said, “It’s like a factory. One person doesn’t do it all.”
Jane Budzynski coordinates with Casey. She said, “We deliver the blankets when we complete 100. We package 10 in a bag. We do about 12 quilts a week.”
The quilts are delivered to Judi Goldman at the Northbrook Chapter of Project Linus.
Goldman said, “It’s scary to be a child and be in the hospital. We give them a blanket that is theirs to keep. It provides security. A father called me to express his gratitude. His son was in the emergency room. The blanket calmed him down, and the father was surprised and grateful that the son could take that blanket home.”
McIntyre said, “This year, some of the quilts were given to some migrant children arriving in Chicago.”
Judy Douds, another volunteer, said, “We also provide fleece and crocheted blankets.”
McIntyre said, “There are size requirements for the Linus quilts and fleece blankets. They must be at least 36 inches on each side. Blankets can be square or rectangular and must be proportional to the width. Larger blankets are always needed.”
Project Linus National Headquarters is located in Belton, Missouri. There are chapters in all 50 states, and Project Linus continues to grow. Blankets are collected locally and distributed to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies, or anywhere a child might need a big hug.
McIntyre said, “You don’t have to know how to sew. We need volunteers to cut and iron. Anyone interested in volunteering can attend our monthly Sew N Sews Club meeting. We meet on the first Monday of the month at 9 a.m. in the Prairie Lodge, Drendel Ballroom.”
