For Immediate Release
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Contact
Pat LaMarche, Epicjourney10@gmail.com
Scott McLarty, (202) 878-2112, scott@memorialblanket.org
Annual Homeless Memorial Blanket Project to display more than 700 handmade blankets at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, Dec. 21
After the display, blankets will be distributed to people without homes; blanket donations encouraged in the Philadelphia area; blanket collection continues in Carlisle, Pa. with donations arriving from more than 20 states and several countries
• When: Saturday, December 21, noon to 6 pm
• Where: Independence National Historic Park, 143 S. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
• Handmade blanket donations and volunteers sought for the display; Blanket Project web site with details and updates: https://memorialblanket.org
WASHINGTON, DC — On Saturday, December 21, 2024, the Homeless Memorial Blanket Project will lay more than 700 donated handmade blankets and quilts at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to raise awareness of and share kindness to people experiencing homelessness.
The display will be free and open to the public from noon to 6 pm. After the display, the blankets and quilts will be distributed to families and individuals without homes.
Past Memorial Blanket events include December displays in Washington, DC in 2022 and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2023. Colorful photos of these displays can be viewed and downloaded at the website (https://memorialblanket.org).
Blanket makers in the Philadelphia area are welcome to drop off their blankets and quilts in person.
In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, blanket dropoff is continuing daily from 3:30 to 5:30 pm through Friday, December 21. On December 21, memorial blanket volunteers will hand deliver the blankets to Philadelphia (press release, December 9: https://memorialblanket.org/?page_id=1535). Blanket organizer Pat LaMarche will return from a twelve-state tour, collecting blankets up and down the east coast from Maine to South Carolina.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church will deliver the hundred or more blankets that have been mailed to them throughout fall.
Free seats on a bus from Carlisle to Philadelphia will be available for people who’d like to volunteer at the display on December 21. Seats are limited — those wishing to ride and volunteer must contact Pat LaMarche at epicjourney10@gmail.com.
The initiative seeks to unite people from across the country in a common cause: to make a difference through the warmth and comfort of handcrafted blankets and quilts to be shared with families and individuals without homes.
The 2024 theme for the event is the Education of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness. More than 30 Philadelphia area outreach workers are expected to collect blankets at the event and distribute them to area students who are unstably housed. Many of these Homeless Liaisons will be on hand at the event, for interviews.
Organizers of the Memorial Blanket Initiative have issued an invitation to people who care: “Whether you’re a skilled knitter, crocheter, sewer, or new to crafting, your contribution can provide a special, personal touch to those in need of warmth.”
Participants can create blankets using any method they prefer — by knitting, crocheting, quilting, or sewing — and can donate them through the Memorial Blanket Initiative.
The blankets can be either 45 inches x 80 inches for individuals or 60 inches x 80 inches for family blankets. The Memorial Blanket newsletter at https://memorialblanket.org will provide information on transporting blankets to the display location. Baby blankets are accepted as well.
For those unable to make blankets but still eager to contribute, financial donations are also accepted to help cover shipping costs, materials for others to turn into blankets and to support other organizational efforts. Donations can be made directly at https://memorialblanket.org. After the display ends on December 21, the blankets will be distributed to people in need.
#memorialblanket
MORE INFORMATION
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project on Facebook (national group)
To find a state Facebook group, type Homeless Remembrance Blanket and the state’s name in Search
https://www.facebook.com/groups/322512689587858
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemorialBlanket
~ END ~