Friendship Village sharing the warmth with Project Linus
Friendship Village's Project Linus volunteers are receiving some help from an unexpected, but well-appreciated source. KarlHeintz Megger, a second-grade student at Michael Collins Elementary School in Schaumburg, is launching a drive to collect supplies for the Friendship Village team of volunteers, known as blanketeers.
Project Linus is a national nonprofit organization that supplies hand-made blankets and quilts to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies and more. Friendship Village's very committed group of blanketeers is responsible for having created approximately 3000 blankets for Project Linus. Earlier this month, they responded to an emergency call from two Chicago-area shelters by delivering 79 hand-made quilts, afghans and blankets. These will be distributed to mothers and children who have been abused.
KarlHeintz was required by his school to coordinate a community service project. After careful consideration and having discussed it with his mother Beth Megger, he decided he wanted to do something in support of Project Linus, an organization with which he has a special bond.
Beth Megger explained that when KarlHeintz was 10 months old, his family visited a campground in the Wisconsin Dells area. They had just arrived when KarlHeintz who had just started to walk, tripped and fell into an extinguished campfire pit. The ashes were hot and KarlHeintz's hands sustained third-degree burns. He was rushed to the hospital. In treating him for his burns, the doctor cut off his clothes. Because KarlHeintz's parents had rushed so quickly to the hospital, they had forgotten to bring a change of clothes. KarlHeintz's father was just about to wrap his own shirt around his son, when one of the nurses said she would be right back with something very special. The nurse brought back a beautiful plaid blanket made by a Project Linus volunteer. Today, this 7-year-old still holds his Project Linus blanket in the highest regard. He sleeps with it, uses it to make tents and shares it joyfully with his little brother Otto.
KarlHeintz decided that because he had received so much from his blanket, that he would like for his community service project to support Project Linus volunteers. He and his mom googled ‘Project Linus, Schaumburg' and found out about Friendship Village's blanketeers, who meet weekly under the leadership of resident Gert Rasmussen.
KarlHeintz and his family have met Gert and several other blanketeers. During the meeting, he shared his story about what an impact his Project Linus blanket has had on his life, and how it inspired his community project of collecting supplies to support the program.
Items being collected by KarlHeintz for Project Linus include:
Bonded batting by the roll
Cotton fabric-especially brightly patterned with children's characters and designs, and solid colored for the backs of quilts-42 inch or larger
Yarn for knitting/creating afghans. Red Heart Yarn and Caron Yarn are preferred
For additional information call Donna Brown at Friendship Village at (847) 843-4254