OUR MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY FOR 2024 WAS HELD ON

Saturday, January 20th, at 9 A.M.  We had lots folks who brought in more than 315 blankets.  We also had 5 agencies who came and told us about how the blankets were being used.  They were able to take 267 blankets back to their agencies.  The rest were given to the Children's Hospital.

Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church, 8260 Cypress Lake Drive

Check our calendar page for future meetings

The blanketeers in 2023 made and turned in 2106 blankets of which 2079 were given back to 8 difference agencies during the year. 

 About Project Linus 

 Project Linus is a national non-profit focused on providing children with a security blanket. After reading about a young girl who took her security blanket with her to her chemotherapy treatments for leukemia, Karen Loucks of Parker, CO, began making homemade blankets for Denver’s Rocky Mountain Children’s Cancer Center. From reading this Parade article on Christmas Eve, 1995, and her subsequent actions that lead to the formal establishment of Project Linus. Since its inception, over 6,000,000 blankets have been lovingly crafted by “blanketeers” of all ages. 

About Our Chapter

 As of year-end 2023, our all-volunteer chapter has proudly provided over 16,900 blankets since 2012.  This would not be possible without the ongoing generosity of the Lee County community. We thank our many volunteers' dedicated efforts — individuals, Girl Scout Troops, and craft groups — who make this possible. Some of our blanketeers reside in southern FL, while others are snowbirds for a few months during the season. A special thank you to Matilda Wilson, our chapter coordinator, and Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church for giving us a place to meet. 

Our Chapter Mission

 Our mission is two-fold: (1) to provide lovingly made tokens of comfort to children in a wide variety of crisis situations and (2) to provide a meaningful service opportunity to individuals and groups. 

How Our Chapter Operates

 We make, collect, and distribute new, handmade blankets for critically ill and traumatized children. At our monthly meetings, we sort, label, and package blankets for distribution to our local partners. Delivery frequency to each of our partnering organizations varies. On average, at least one group receives blankets each 4 – 6 weeks. All blankets remain in the area and are never sold to raise money for the chapter. At this time, we do not distribute blankets to individuals. 

You are invited to come to our monthly working meetings or annual get-together’s to help prepare blankets or learn more. The latest schedule is available on our calendar page.

 Groups We Support

In recent years, we’ve worked with 14 organizations serving children in the Ft. Myers, FL metro area. These organizations identify children who would benefit from the emotional comfort a handmade blanket holds. Supported groups include:

• Golisano Children’s Hospital – Health Park
• Abuse Counseling & Treatment (ACT)
• Fort Myers Police Department
• Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Florida
• Healthy Start of Southwest Florida
• Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Center
• Children’s Advocacy Center
• Valerie’s House
• Hope Health Care for Children
• ANA's Friends

Sponsors

We are an official Project Linus chapter and need to support our National Organization with annual dues.  We have received support recently from Walmart Supercenter #3417, 6650 Collier Blvd, Naples and Walmart Neighborhood Market #5453, 505 SW Pine Island Road, Cape Coral. Without their annual support, we would not be able to help children in Lee County that are in crises.