The Santa Clarita chapter of Project Linus has kept the Valentine’s spirit alive by spreading love with handmade blankets for children.
The annual Make-a-Blanket Day kicked off this year in the gym of Golden Valley High School as hundreds turned out to join many others around the country to help those in need of comfort.
Sharon Garvar leads the Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley and Sylmar chapter of the project starting five years ago after her own son received a blanket after being born in a neonatal intensive care unit, NICU, with pneumonia.
“It was so meaningful for us, because it was a difficult pregnancy and birth,” Garvar said of the blanket. “I didn’t know who would do something like that. They were never gonna meet us or my child. It was just super meaningful.”
Last year the event donated about 600 blankets, and this year Garvar plans to match it.
The event is put on by Garvar’s nonprofit ventures class at Academy of the Canyons. The students prepared for the occasion with a president, events team, social media team and public relations team.
“We all have a job to do,” said Christana Knights, the president of Garvar’s class. “It teaches you about business. We’re running this event right now. We all have to get people here and do the marketing, so it’s learning really.”
Beyond the business lessons learned, the class instills the art of compassionate giving.
“Some people need something more than you do, even if it’s just a blanket,” Knights said. “These kids are so excited about having a blanket or something that’s warm.”
Those that attended the event got to work right away, making as many blankets as they could.
One group made it their mission to finish 50 blankets by the time the event concluded. By 4 p.m., the project yielded 210 blankets.
Garvar encouraged those who wished to contribute in the future to bring fleece to make a blanket at either of their two events they put on in the fall and the spring.
For more information about the The Linus Project’s Santa Clarita chapter, visit scvprojectlinus.org.
