Project Linus, a non-profit organization that makes blankets for children in need, has been operating a chapter in Grand Junction for over a decade. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Colorado Mesa University (CMU) will be hosting a blanket-making night for Project Linus.
Sixteen years ago, Mike and Kerrie Strasser’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer at age 14, and a blanket that was given to her from Project Linus stayed with her throughout her chemotherapy sessions and recovery.
“When she received the blanket, we saw what an impact it was. It helped her through the chemo[therapy] and everything else,” Kerrie Strasser said.
The Strassers researched Project Linus and noticed there wasn’t a chapter in Grand Junction, so they made one. For 16 years, Kerrie has been a co-coordinator with her husband Mike, who does the books. The Strassers work out of their house, and they have quarterly reports they must give to the Project Linus headquarters in Missouri.
The Strassers are held accountable for all the blankets that are made, and they must raise at least $500 a year to keep their chapter going.
Project Linus has 360 total chapters, and the Grand Junction chapter pairs up with Colorado Mesa University twice a year for a Blanket Night. Project Linus also partners with Joann Fabrics and Crafts for their “Make a Blanket Day” event each February.
Kerrie and her husband wanted to help kids ages 0 to 18 in similar situations get over their circumstances with the support from homemade blankets. And over the past 16 years, the Grand Junction chapter has donated over 10,000 blankets to children in need. These Project Linus blankets are donated to local hospitals, the Western Slope Center for Children and the Counseling Education Center (CEC), which helps children in foster homes.
“The doctors and nurses give the blankets out. They say it’s just amazing how it turns these kiddos’ situations around and makes it so much easier to handle and makes them feel more secure,” Kerrie Strasser said.
Project Linus accepts homemade tight fleece blankets, quilts and afghans. The Strassers give out 30 blankets a month to each hospital in the Grand Valley community, a task that requires a lot of volunteer help.
“If there is anybody who has lots of time on their hands and they don’t know what to do, if they would like to make blankets for us, that would be super. We welcome all kinds of blankets that come in,” Kerrie Strasser said. “You have to make sure that they are handmade. . . We let the kids that receive them know that people take time out to make these blankets and they are made with love.”
Anybody can help out at the Nov. 5 event, which runs from 5:30-7 p.m. in CMU’s University Center Meyer Ballroom. There are extra blanket kits provided to those who would like to help make blankets for Project Linus but don’t have the resources. The Strassers’ goal for the Blanket Night at CMU is to make more than 65 blankets.
For volunteer opportunities, call Kerrie Strasser at (970) 523-0028 or email her at Strasserfam@aol.com. The website for Project Linus can be visited here.
