Project Linus restarting public outreach

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This article was published 16/09/2023 (740 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Westman chapter of Project Linus is hosting an “appreciation event” next Saturday at Brandon’s Monterey Estates Recreation Centre, marking the charity’s first public gathering since 2019.

Talking to the Sun last week, local Project Linus co-ordinator Trish Parobec said she’s excited to reconnect with her fellow “blanketeers” in person, since they’ve been largely communicating from a distance since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

This event is also designed to potentially recruit new volunteers into the fold, which is why Project Linus will be handing out refreshments and blanket kits throughout this 90-minute affair (2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.).

“It’s just a chance to be able to connect and provide a little bit of support as a community of people who care about children,” she said.

While this initiative was originally born south of the border, Project Linus, named after the famous Peanuts character created by Charles Schulz, has been operating in Canada since 1998 with the overriding goal of providing handmade blankets to youth under the age of 18.

In May 2010, a group of four local women — Val Robertson, Yvonne Smith, Cora Champion and Judi Janzen — launched the Westman chapter of Project Linus, working with quilters and crocheters across southwestern Manitoba to provide comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need of a hug.

Parobec joined Project Linus in early 2018, when the group had grown to include more than 50 volunteers who were producing roughly 350 blankets a year.

After collecting these gifts of comfort, Parobec and her team are responsible for distributing these care packages through intermediaries like school counsellors, EMS workers or agency representatives, who can discreetly make contact with distressed families during a difficult time.

Committee member Bonnie Coombs witnessed the impact these care packages can have first-hand when her three-year-old granddaughter received a blanket to help her deal with a recent cancer diagnosis.

“I always thought that was pretty special,” Coombs said.

“And I’ve enjoyed the contact with people in our group, but also … you feel like you’re giving something back to the communities, and it’s all the Westman communities.”

While the group held annual in-person get-togethers through their Make-a-Blanket-Day event, that all came to an end following the emergence of COVID-19, with the distribution of materials being put on hold for a short time.

However, Parobec said that their volunteers have been busy making blankets throughout the pandemic, ensuring that a good supply of care packages were ready to be shipped once provincial restrictions started to loosen up.

“I think for a lot of people … doing crafts in general was very therapeutic for them,” she said. “And so we’ve had so many generous donations.”

Parobec said that over the last year or so, Project Linus’ operations in Westman have largely returned to normal, with regional volunteers producing anywhere from 250 to 300 blankets every 12 months.

With this upcoming appreciation event, Parobec and her team are looking to regain some of their public profile, with the hope of ensuring that Project Linus remains a visible part of Westman for decades to come.

“It’ll be a lifelong thing for me to continue making blankets … whether they’re made out of polar fleece or they’re made by knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, whatever,” she said.

There are currently 45 Project Linus chapters located across Canada, according to the group’s official website.

Four of these chapters are situated in Manitoba (Westman, Selkirk, Winnipeg and the Stonewall/Interlake region).

For more information on Project Linus Westman, contact Parobec at projectlinuswestman@outlook.com.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com