Blanket A Child in Love

We are honored to partner with Dell’s Children’s Medical Center to provide blankets to 96 children this winter!

Statistics show that kids heal faster if they are treated in a Children’s Center.  So, Dell’s Children’s Medical Center has taken that very seriously.  Here are a few great things I found out about their facility that make them spectacular and make me proud to support.

1. They believe that no child should be refused care if they are unable to pay for attention.
2. Their children get extra time, care, specialized attention, and compassion.
3. They are the first hospital in the world to achieve Platinum Status under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council.
4. Their facility is composed of a series of incredible kid friendly spaces.
5. They believe in the healing power of art and nature.

“Throughout the hospital, artwork and sculptures grace the walls and reception areas,” explains Robert Bonar, President and CEO of Dell Children’s. “Since ancient times, art has been used as part of the process of healing. By providing a nurturing setting—whether it’s a piece of artwork, a courtyard or other symbols—we’re able to use these surroundings to join young patients’ spirits, minds and health.”

How can you support Dell’s Children?  What do you have to offer the children that are ill?  Go to our Contribute page to make a donation and Blanket an ill child in Love this winter.

You wouldn’t believe it, but they’ll take the blankie.

So this is Baby Girl, hands on that satin trim already.  In my post What is it About a Blankie, I talk about when I first noticed that Baby Girl was hooked to the corner of her blankie.  She would run her fingers over that pointed satin and it would get her to sleep night after night!

Well, in this pic, you can already see where the habit started.  This is Baby Girl at just a few days old and she already has the corner of the blanket figured out!

That picture was taken moments before I scooped her delicate little body in my arms.  Her back was as soft as peach fuzz.  She was born at the end of November, and yet in this unpredictable Texas weather I had no choice but to let her teeny little body breathe.  It was hot that day.

There are moments, when she’s curled up in my arms, that I can still see that little baby.  Except there are hugs, kisses, and lots of tickles now, and every day is, somehow, sweeter…

So, it seems my idea to get blankets to children isn’t that original.  Project Linus has been doing it for almost 15 years!  And in that time, they’ve delivered over 3 million handmade blankets to children.  That’s a lot of blankets, and a lot of women sewing, knitting, quilting, and pouring love into each one.

I spoke to a woman from their National Headquarters today, and was touched by a story she told me.  She recounted an incident in which there was a school shooting and someone from the local chapter stopped to deliver blankets to the students that had witnessed the incident.  While she was informed that the blankets weren’t needed – after all, these were teenagers, not small children, she left the blankets in a corner anyway.

Minutes after leaving she got a phone call.  It was someone at the school.  They needed more blankets.  It turned the high school kids had thrown the blankets over their shoulders, sat in a circle, and began opening up about the incident.  The high school kids were asking for more blankets.

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Project Linus is great because they cater to kids of all ages, and so many different types backgrounds and experiences.  Each chapter reaches out to address the needs of their community.  For us this works so well because we don’t know every community as well as someone who lives, interacts, and gives there.  We’re so excited to partner with Project Linus!

We all remember the Peanuts character Linus.  The sweet, incredibly bright boy, with a slight lisp, and a blanket in tow.