Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Pat LaMarche
Epicjourney10@gmail.com
207-671-0190

June 9, 2022

Worldwide Knit in Public Day Has Carlisle, Pennsylvania Location
#memorialblanket Participants to Knit at Letort Park to Raise Awareness of Project

In honor of World Wide Knit in Public Day (KIP), knitters, crocheters and quilters will gather in Letort Park, Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 12:30 to 2:00 PM to show their support for KIP while reminding area artisans that last year’s Homeless Memorial Blanket Project – now known as #memorialblanket – will be happening again on Homeless Remembrance Night, December 21st, the longest night of the year.

Last year’s poignant and highly successful central PA event has bloomed into a national effort slated to be positioned on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

Reverend Matthew Best, one of the founders of last year’s effort which provided 219 blankets to folks in need is excited about this year’s larger and hopefully more impactful event, “If the numbers from just Illinois, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Maine, are correct – we already have more blankets pledged than last year. We’re shooting for 500 at the Capitol building – or 9000 square feet. Last year’s 219 blankets covered 3200 square feet at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carlisle. We have groups from all 50 states and two territories up and running – we’re looking forward to increasing nationwide awareness about the unstably housed – and to making hundreds of people around the nation feel like they matter: Because they do. After all, Homeless Remembrance Night stands as a reminder of not only those who live on the street – but those who die there as well.”

Bernadine Rider – one of the knitters who will be at Letort park from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. has already committed to making blankets for the #memorialblanket and welcomes others to join her in the park, “With KIP we’ve added a whole new layer to the importance of #memorialblanket. It’s not just about knitting or crocheting or quilting… at home… alone. Bringing folks together to create is a wonderful feeling. I’m looking forward to meeting other folks from the area working on this project.”

One of those other people is Amy Neurohr, “Last year I headed up the squares aspect of the blanket project. Knitters and crocheters who couldn’t make a whole blanket, just made squares. I collected all these together and connected them to make blankets. I’ll be doing that again this year. We want everyone participating who wants to participate – no one should feel left out because they can’t make a whole blanket alone. Homelessness won’t be solved alone either.”
Neurohr continued, “It isn’t just an art installation, or an attempt to help others in need. it’s also a demonstration of what we can do as a community. We care, we act, we accomplish. People think we aren’t a community anymore – last year’s #memorialblanket project proved that we are.”

More information on sponsors, participants and logistics is available at www.memorialblanket.org

#####