Project Linus: blanketing needy children with love.

In the late Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, a character named Linus had a security blanket that he used in escapist fashion to protect and comfort himself when life got tough. In the real world, Project Linus, a national volunteer organization named after the character, makes blankets for children in crisis who need similar comforting from the harsh realities of life. Established in 1996, Project Linus now has chapters in all 50 states (a total of 347 chapters) and has donated more than 1,169,000 homemade security blankets to date for children of all ages in hospitals, temporary housing, and shelters. The blankets also are distributed by firefighters and emergency and rescue personnel.

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Many of these blankets were made by the residents and staff of Normandy Farms Estates, a 500-resident CCRC in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, located in Montgomery County approximately 30 miles outside of Philadelphia. After an unsure beginning, the program has grown by leaps and bounds and is now a regular fixture of the campus.

"In August of 2001, I got a phone call from Linda Rodenbach, a volunteer with Project Linus," explains Sandy Stiegler, the recently retired director of resident services at Normandy Farms Estates. "Linda's mother lived here, and Linda wanted to help Project Linus but couldn't knit or sew. So she approached us."

Stiegler was hesitant initially: "Linda said that at first, to ease our way into the program, we could just make little blankets for premature infants in the neonatal unit of a local hospital. I said I didn't know if we could because our Independent Living community is really very active and busy with activities and other volunteer efforts. I also was not sure if the residents who knit and sew would be willing to do it for strangers, because making a blanket is a lot of work. But I agreed to give it a try and see what happened."

Stiegler and her staff set about arranging for a meeting for October 2001, gauging resident interest, and posting notices on campus bulletin boards. "When Linda came, she didn't have any blanket samples for us to look at," explains Stiegler. "She apologized and explained that all the blankets were sent to children in need after September 11. A lot of them were sent to New York City to the children of firefighters and police officers, many others to Washington, D.C., to the children of the people who had been killed at the Pentagon, and others went to Western Pennsylvania. She explained that people had been sending blankets from all around the country to fill the need, and they still didn't have any.

"When Linda asked if we could still make some, we couldn't say no. Everyone felt so powerless after 9/11 and frustrated about not being able to do anything. We kept reading these stories about, for example, the man who drove up from the South with a carload of pots and pans who sat outside and cooked for the police and firefighters at Ground Zero, or the man with the cello who sat and played music for them when they were exhausted. We wanted to help, too, and this was something we could do."

So the production of blankets began, and it hasn't slowed down since. The first month, 14 people--four staff members and ten residents--produced 20 blankets. Approximately 90 people are now involved in Project Linus at Normandy Farms Estates, and they have produced more than 900 blankets to date. Production levels vary: Some residents make one or two a year; some make one a week. The staff involvement in blanket production was primarily to help kick things off. Staff are still involved, but now it is primarily residents doing all the knitting. Some staff still knit, but they are mainly there in a supportive role.

"For example," Stiegler explains, "we started the program with the residents in Independent Living, and after a few months, I spoke to a staff member in our Assisted Living facility and recommended the project for her residents. She initially said that they didn't really have anyone who knits or crochets there, and she wasn't sure if they could do it. So my crew went over one day with all of the yarn, hooks, and the like to see if anyone wanted to try it. Very tentatively the residents picked up the yarn and started making little squares. They found that they could do it, but they couldn't assemble the squares into a blanket, and that is where the staff jumped in to assist. The staff put them together, helped out when a resident forgot how to do something, picked up a stitch when a resident dropped a stitch, and that sort of thing. It has become a very successful program there, as well, because of the sense of empowerment that the residents get from being able to do something for someone else. Many times at that level of care, residents are having things done for them."

According to Stiegler, it is this wonderful feeling that comes from helping those in need that has made the program so successful at Normandy Farms Estates. "I think the biggest benefit of this program for our facility is the satisfaction the residents get from knowing that they are helping others," says Stiegler. "It really makes them feel good and boosts their self-esteem. Some of them work together, some of them work separately, but once a month we bring all the blankets together into the lobby and display, count, and record the blankets made that month; show thank-you notes that we've received; and share any other feedback we've gotten so residents really get a sense that they are helping. Recently, one of the therapists who works directly with children in bereavement for whom we provide blankets came in and showed us thank-you notes that the children had colored or written, telling why they had chosen their blankets. The residents read these notes and see pictures of the children holding their blankets close and smiling, and they just feel so honored to be able to help.

"It takes an extraordinary amount of kindness to make a blanket for a stranger," Stiegler continues. "We are all used to grandmothers or other relatives who knit something for their family members or loved ones. But to make something and then give it away with no idea at all who is getting the blanket is different. It takes a lot of real caring for residents to put all the time and effort into a gift that they know they will never really see the receiver using and enjoying."

Today, Normandy Farms Estates makes blankets for the Project Linus Philadelphia chapter, serving children of all ages in need through ten different local organizations. Many residents pay for their own materials, but because many others are on fixed incomes, they rely on generous cash and materials donations from other residents, friends of the community, and manufacturers, as well as a grant from Prudential Insurance and yearly support from Normandy Farms Estates' bazaar committee through the Department of Resident Services. The national Project Linus office also contributes the satin tag that is sewn onto each and every blanket, which reads, "Made with tender loving care by Project Linus."

And despite the fact that she retired on March 1, 2005, Stiegler plans on continuing to donate her time to Project Linus, as well. "I'm going to continue to come in about once a month to volunteer with Project Linus--handing out materials, collecting blankets, etc.," she says. "I think it is just too important to let go."

For more information on Normandy Farms Estates, visit www.acts-retirement.org/communities/nf_index.asp or call [phone]; for more information on Project Linus, visit www.projectlinus.org. To send your comments to the author and editors, e-mail [e-mail].

BY TODD HUTLOCK, ASSISTANT EDITOR