Keeping kids covered

It’s Your Birthday Inc. has teamed up with Project Linus, a nonprofit that gifts blankets made by volunteers to children in need

BY WENDY TODD

For many children, a blanket is a sweet treasure, providing not only warmth and comfort but also feelings of security.

The Florissant-based nonprofit, It’s Your Birthday Inc., which provides birthday parties and presents for youth in shelters, has teamed up with Project Linus, a nonprofit that gifts blankets made by volunteers to children who are ill, traumatized or otherwise in need.

The collaboration brings together two organizations working to bring a measure of hope and caring to youth experiencing severe adversity. It’s Your Birthday Inc. plans to partner with other organizations in the future to continue serving distressed youth.

“As a part of our strategic plan, we will collaborate with more nonprofits in 2023,” said IYBI executive director, Rolanda Finch. “When I saw the Project Linus Blankets and learned their mission, I knew it would be a perfect partnership. The blankets will be a great addition to the birthday-in-a-box we provide to children in homeless and domestic violence shelters.”

This past Monday, volunteers convened virtually to make 50 blankets to be included in birthday boxes.

The national organization, Project Linus, headquartered in Belton, Missouri, was founded by Karen Louks, who in 1995, read a piece in “Parade” about a young cancer patient who found comfort in her blanket. Louks began donating handmade blankets to her local children’s hospital, thus creating Project Linus, named after the Peanuts character, Linus Van Pelt. There are over 300 chapters across the country in all 50 states.

Finch believed the blankets would be a valuable supplement to the birthday boxes.

“In addition to having the desire to have a ‘normal’ childhood, our birthday kiddos are in need of a sense of security,” she said. “Our hope is the Project Linus blankets will become something special to the birthday kiddos during this traumatic time in their young lives.”

Project Linus has donated over nine million blankets nationwide and over 30,000 locally via the local chapter that services St. Louis and St. Charles County.

There has been a demonstrated need for the donated blankets.

“We receive ongoing requests for blankets from many local hospitals and agencies that work with children, including Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Sweet Babies, Community of Hope and Santa’s Helpers,” said, Megan Cannistraro, local chapter coordinator. “They see the comfort that handmade blankets can bring to the children they serve, and continue to request deliveries from Project Linus.”