As wildfires rage across large portions of Washington, a local quilting group decided to step up and help while using their talents.
The Lewis County chapter of Project Linus, an organization dedicated to providing children in need with blankets, has announced it will be donating 50 handmade quilts to victims of the Spokane wildfires.
Nationally, Project Linus is a 501c3 nonprofit that provides quilts for children up to 18 years old who are in a trauma situation, ill or just need help.
Project Linus has chapters in all 50 states and helps distribute locally-made blankets to children in hospitals, shelters, social service agencies or anywhere a child might be in need of a big hug, its website states.
The Project Linus group in Lewis County has been meeting for many years at a local church. Together, they sewed all 50 quilts donated to Spokane this year. According to its Facebook page, the Lewis and Cowlitz chapter of Project Linus is a group of volunteer "blanketeers" who sew handmade quilts and blankets for children in need.
For more information on Project Linus, visit https://www.projectlinus.org/.
“We reached out in hope that we could help out the kids in Spokane who have lost their homes in the fire,” Debbie Greising, a member of the Lewis County chapter of Project Linus, said. “We were directed to the Quilt Bee store in Spokane, who is collecting quilts from all over the country.”
One of the group members is arranging for the quilts to be delivered soon.
As of Thursday, The Quilting Bee in Spokane had stopped accepting donations until further notice due to the sheer volume. It has already received over 1,000 quilts, pillowcases and other items for survivors of the Spokane wildfires.
