Lititz/Lancaster Chapter Project Linus Events in 2014 Tuesday Evening at Ephrata Library 2/11/14 Fleece Blankets 6-8pm Make a Blanket Day at Landis Homes 2/15/14 10am-2pm Project Linus in Lancaster is Hitting a Milestone! Since inception, the Lititz/Lancaster Chapter of Project Linus has worked diligently making blankets for local children. We average about 400 hundred blankets a month. We are hoping to hit a milestone of 40,000 blankets by MABD (Make a Blanket Day). So far we are at 39,120 blankets. We can do it if every blanketeer can make 1 or 2 extra blankets by February 15. Make sure it gets dropped off at a drop-off location or at the event itself. We will be working very hard to get those blankets to put toward our count. Thanks everyone for helping out! TAPS January 2014 Fundraiser night at Friendly s on Oregon Pike 2/18/14 5-8pm Tuesday Evening at Ephrata Library 2/25/14 Granny Squares 6-8pm Tuesday Evening at Ephrata Library 3/11/14 Labeling 6-8pm Yarn In at Ephrata Library 3/22/14 Learn a new pattern 11am- 1pm We are continuing to collect patriotic blankets for children of fallen heroes. Our next drop off will be in May 2014 in Washington DC for the TAPS Program over the Memorial Weekend. Red, white and blue blankets are being accepted as well as military types. Please, we are being asked to not have blankets looking like flags as this is a reminder of the flag on the coffin. MABD Make a Blanket Day Saturday, February 15, 2014 is our MABD. It is being held at Landis Homes on Oregon Road in the West Community Room from 10am-2pm. All are welcome to attend. Lots of things are happening! We will be making lots of blankets, hoping to reach 40,000 blankets. We will be voting on a Boo Boo Kids Quilt Challenge that started at the Thank You Tea. We will be starting a new quilt challenge called a Round Robin. Lots of door prizes will be given out. Food will be provided. Food assignments are as follows: A-F bring something hot like soup, chili, bbq; G-L bring something cold like salad, pasta salad, sandwiches; M-R bring a drink; S-Z bring a dessert. Hope to see you there! January 2014 Volume 2014, Issue 1 Lititz/Lancaster Chapter (717) 572-2377
Upcoming Fundraisers We have three fundraisers occurring over the next several months. In February we have our Boo Boo Kids Quilt Challenge. Come to MABD and vote on your favorite quilt. $1 = 1 vote. Also in February we have our annual Friendly s fundraiser. It will be on Tuesday, February 18 from 5-8pm. 15-20% of the sales will go to Project Linus. Come out for a meal or ice cream. Tell all your family and friends. Take outs are also welcome. Every person qualifies without a coupon. In May, over Mother s Day weekend, we will be having our annual yard sale in Diane s neighborhood. What is needed is yard sale goods to be sold, hot dogs, sauerkraut, buns, chips, drinks, baked goods, and volunteers to help. We usually do well with this fundraiser. Lots of traffic means lots of people find out about what we do. Further info coming. Weighted Blankets We gave out 29 weighted blankets last year. 28 of them went to Autism York and one went to an individual. What a blessing it is to be able to help these children sleep through the night. But more are needed. Those who made some last year, please continue to do so. Those who are interested in starting, email Diane for a copy of the instructions at dianelwagner67@aol.com or check out the link on our website. New Yarn in Experience We have started the New Year with a new look at the Yarn In. We still have yarn to pick up. We still accept blankets. We still have patterns and labels for you. What s new is the extra hour. We are now available at Ephrata Library from 10am to 1pm on our designated days. When all our labeling sewing and bagging of the blankets is done, we have time to sit down and enjoy each other s company while we crochet or knit. Bring your own project or learn a new pattern. Yarnies to Have a Challenge Too We can t forget our Yarnies. We will also be having a Challenge coming up. Check out our next Newsletter in June for details. Page 2 January 2014 Volume 2014, Issue 1 Lititz/Lancaster Chapter (717) 572-2377
Teen Haven I still get questions about Teen Haven. At the present time I believe all beds are covered and all pillows are encased. But we still give to the teens that visit. They come from the inner cities and are very poor. Project Linus continues to provide blankets for these teens to take home with them. With that being said, large blankets are needed for these bigger children. Any large blankets we receive are set aside for this cause. New Website Coming! Ilsa Lamboy, a student at ITT, will be interning with us during this semester. She has been working hard to create a new website for us. Continue to use the old website. When the new website is completely done, the old website will take you directly to the new website. Meanwhile, take a peak and the progress. We welcome any comments or suggestions. Just keep in mind that until the website is completed, things that appear to be missing are only because we haven t gotten to it yet. Drop Offs We are having some concerns with some drop off locations. If you are finding that blankets are sitting at a drop off location too long, let me know. We need to get these blankets in the hands of children quickly. We don t want them sitting in a bag. One of locations, the Lutheran Church in Elizabethtown, contacted me to pick up some blankets before they moved their office. With the weather as it was, I was unable to do so. I have tried calling them, but their phone rings on without a voicemail picking up. If anyone knows their new number or where their office is located, please contact me. Young Volunteers We have some new teen volunteers joining us this winter. Zayda is from Conestoga Valley High School and Jenna and Amanda are from Ephrata High School. Please welcome them as they assist us in our endeavors. Also, my daughter, Mikaila, and her friends periodically make an appearance as well. They are from Lampeter-Strasburg High School. Email Blasts To try to keep you blanketeers better informed, there will be more frequent email blasts. Please keep our non-technological blanketeers in mind. Print out a copy of each email blast for them to read too. Or those blanketeers without an email address, ask a family member or friend to receive these emails for you. January 2014 Volume 2014, Issue 1 Lititz/Lancaster Chapter (717) 572-2377 Page 3
Mailings In an effort to cut costs, we are hoping to downsize the number of newsletters we copy and mail. We will be trying to get copies of the newsletter to the events, placing them at the drop off locations, and it will also be available on our website. We would like to get almost 100% of the newsletters sent through emails. If you don t have an email, consider one of the above options or have the newsletter sent to a family or friend via email. Contact Diane before March 1, 2014 if you would like to continue receiving a mailed newsletter. If she does not hear from you, you will be dropped from the mailing list. If you want to switch to receiving an email, send the email address to Diane. I have already heard from a few of you. You don t need to contact me again. Thanks to those who switched over to email. Reminder Just a friendly reminder that blankets need to be: Made of new, washed material. Wool-free yarns Cotton, child-friendly fabric (no home décor) 36 x36 or larger Survey Shortly everyone with an email address will be receiving a survey from survey monkey. It is asking for information from you as a volunteer for Project Linus. Please take the time to complete this survey. If you do not have an email address with us, then please fill out the survey on the next page as mail it to Diane. Why are we doing a survey? To get a handle on how many blanketeers and volunteers we actually have. To have updated contact information in case we need to get in touch with you. To find out what areas each volunteer is interested in to be able to meet those needs via events. To get to know our volunteers whom don t come to events. To work on achieving the second mission statement of Project Linus by making sure volunteers are feeling needed. Once the information is compiled, it will be available at the events to be updated as needed. Page 4 January 2014 Volume 2014, Issue 1 Lititz/Lancaster Chapter (717) 572-2377
Mail-in Survey Form Name: Address: Phone Number: Email Address: Birthdate: Year Started with Project Linus: Are you a knitter, crocheter, quilter, or other? What Project Linus events do you attend? Do you make blankets as part of a group? Which group? Do you receive the newsletter through email or snail mail? Please mail this to: Project Linus, c/o Diane Wagner, 287 Highview Drive, Leola, PA 17540 2014 Quilting Bee Dates February 15 - MABD 10am-2pm April 19 10am-2pm June 21 10am-2pm August 16 10am-2pm October 18 10am-2pm November 15 Thank You Tea 11am-2pm Located in the West Community Room at Landis Homes Thank You! Thank you to WalMart on Lincoln Highway for donating $750 to Project Linus as well as various other wonderful individual supporters. Without your generosity, Project Linus wouldn t be able to continue making blankets. January 2014 Volume 2014, Issue 1 Lititz/Lancaster Chapter (717) 572-2377 Page 5
Litiz/Lancaster Chapter Project Linus 287 Highview Drive Leola, Pa 17540 Phone: (717)572-2377 2014 Yarn Ins March 22 10am-1pm July 26 10am-1pm September 27 10am-1pm We will be meeting in the larger room at Ephrata Library. Contact Diane if you want to continue receiving this newsletter via mail. E-Mail: dianelwagner67@aol.com Web Site: Tuesday Meetings at Ephrata Library http://www.orgsites.com/p a/lancprojectlinus/ New! http://www.lititzlancasterp rojectlinus.org/ February 11 Fleece Tying February 25 Granny Squares March 11 Sewing Labels March 25 Kits April 8 Piecing April 22 Layering May 13 Tying May 27 Fleece Tying June 10 Labels Ironing June 24 Sewing Labels; Newsletter July 8 Granny Squares July 22 - Kits August 12 - Piecing August 26 - Layering September 9 - Tying September 23 Newsletter; Fleece Tying October 14 No Meeting October 28 Granny Squares November 11 - Kits November 25 Piecing, Layering December 9 Planning, Tying Located in the smaller conference room from 6-8pm. Project Linus c/o Diane Wagner 287 Highview Drive Leola, PA 17540