Bluffton's Maple Crest Senior Living Community's crochet-knit circle handed over some of their creations to a good cause earlier this month.
On March 2 members of the group handed 13 crocheted and knitted baby blankets to Project Linus representative Jane Ebersole, coordinator of the Project Linus Findlay Chapter.
Volunteer Kimberly Hansen handed over to Ebersole, as Hansen has been the leader of the Maple Crest crochet-knit circle, working hands-on with Maple Crest residents Annie Balmer, Betty Engle and Mary Huffer on these blankets and other projects.
Community friends, Margie Marquart and Trudy Baber were also instrumental in finishing off partially completed blankets, and Margie was present for the special moment.
Ebersole said that Project Linus began in 1995 when Karen Loucks-Baker was inspired by a news story of a little girl getting through her chemotherapy treatments with her security blanket.
Loucks-Baker felt she could make a difference by making blankets for other children in need. She christened the project for the blanket-toting character from the "Peanuts" comic strip, with permission from Charles Shultz.
Since then, the project has expanded to include blankets for children who are seriously ill or traumatized in various ways, both in the United States and overseas. Over 4 million have been distributed, with 4,633 blankets from the Findlay Chapter alone.
Ebersole said that church women's groups, knitting and sewing clubs, school groups, and individuals have responded to the need, and the outpouring of love through a constant supply of blankets amazes her.
"We've hardly ever been blanket less!" Ebersole said. "With no dues, deadlines or meetings, it's a perfect project for busy women who still want to knit or sew in their free moments and make a difference in the world."
Tears choked Ebersole's words as she shared one real example of "making a difference" - blankets from Findlay were sent to an Afghan refugee camp where children were sleeping between plastic tarps with no other covering.
To learn more about the "Project Linus" Chapter nearest you: www.projectlinus.org.
