FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 14, 2022
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project
CONTACT
Scott McLarty, 202-878-2112, scott@memorialblanket.org
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project, providing homemade blankets for individuals and families without homes, plans display on the West Lawn of the Capitol in DC on Dec. 21
- Facebook page with photographs of blankets and news about the project and participants: https://www.facebook.com/groups/322512689587858
- People across the US with sewing, knitting, crocheting, and quilting skills are invited to join the project: Find a state at https://memorialblanket.org
WASHINGTON, DC — The Homeless Memorial Blanket Project, a nationwide effort to encourage and compile homemade blankets for distribution to unhoused individuals and families, is preparing a display of blankets to cover 9,000 square feet of the West Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Dec. 21, 2022.
“People across the US are already at work making blankets for next winter,” said homeless activist Pat LaMarche, who initiated the project. “We’re seeing churches and civic organizations along with blanket makers everywhere step up to help community members in need. People care.”
Blankets for babies and children are a special focus, given the increasing number of families facing loss of their homes in today’s unstable unstable housing market. The US Department of Education estimates that the number of schoolchildren experiencing homeless exceeds 1.5 million, which does not include toddlers and babies.
The project has participants in at least 19 states so far and organizers expect the number to increase. Pennsylvania, Maine, and Massachusetts are currently the most active states.
“We’re aiming for a total of at least 500 blankets, coming from every state and territory, on the West Lawn of the Capitol on Dec. 21. When the display is disassembled, the blankets will be distributed to people in dire need during the winter,” said Ms. LaMarche.
Each state is being asked to make at least 100 blankets, providing ten for the Capitol Lawn display and donating another 90 or more to outreach programs in their area. Typical blankets dimensions are 35″ x 80″ and 60″ x 80″ with a variety of fabrics, fibers, and colors.
“Being from an area with a significant homeless population, both on the street (homeless vets and the closing of a state mental hospital) and hidden (college students, young families, even school students) it was an easy decision to participate in this project which offers warmth in both a physical blanket, and hopefully, by realizing that someone unknown to them cares,” said Jan Davis, Massachusetts State Blanket Coordinator, East Hampton, Mass. “I’ve worked in human services and education for much of my life; this was an easy choice.”
The Homeless Memorial Blanket Project is hosted by the Charles Bruce Foundation (https://charlesbrucefoundation.com), which is located in central Pennsylvania. The Dec. 21 display will be an arts installation by this nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
MORE INFORMATION
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project on Facebook (national page)
To find a state Facebook group, type Homeless Remembrance Blanket and the state’s name in Search
https://www.facebook.com/groups/322512689587858
Nonprofit Seeks Artisans Across US to Help the Unhoused
Daily Kos, February 6, 2022
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