GAD project completed, and a few thoughts.

[dburg30]

Just turned in our project linus blankets for the GAD promotion. When I got there and saw all the blankets they had gotten already today and saw the list of people they had that were delivering blankets today and the number of folks sorting / stacking etc to the blankets, I have to admit, this old guy got a little misty eyed. Had I heard of project linus before the GAD promo? Nope. Are there probably many people just like me? Yep. That disney is doing this promotion I do feel may have a better result in people volunteering then what you may feel. Dont get me wrong, I'm sure there will be some that will go do their day and get their ticket and be done with it. But just seeing how the blankets are used, and knowing that those blankets will help comfort a child, well, let's just say it's hard to not want to do things like that more.

So, while I'm on my vacation this October, I have a feeling I'll think back to what me and 6 other members of my family did, and will be very happy knowing that in some small way, we've helped someone else.

Is this the proper area for it? Well if it's not I'm sure they will move it, but if any of you have thought about doing the GAD promo, and havent gotten around to it, see if there is anything that interests you. We have all of us but one that have full time jobs, and many weekends, so being able to make blankets and then deliver them really, really helped us out to be able to participate. And knowing how easy the no-sew blankets are, I'm sure we'll pick up some fleece every so often and send off a few more

Just had to share

Get out and be a volunteer!

Oh and I shared a picture or 2 of our stack of blankets on another thread, but here it is again

 

[BradyBz12]

A terrific post that really gets at the heart of what I think the true intent was behind this promotion. Thanks for sharing!

 

[goofy53073]

We felt the same way about participating in Project Linus through the GAD promotion. I too had never heard of Project Linus before this. There were no local chapters near me participating so we went through the national one and had to mail in our blankets. I would have loved to actually drop them off in person. The best thing about this was that my 3 children (7, 5 and 2) all participated in some way (even though officially my 7 year old was the only one who got a voucher).They came with us and helped pick out and buy the fabric, helped cut the fringe and even tie some knots.

I just got my vouchers e-mailed today and we leave in 9 days so we are so excited! 5 of us participated (me, dh, son and mil, fil) so we will be getting FP's for 5 days of our trip

 

[jparc]

I'm one of those people who had never heard of Project linus before. I did another volunteer service for my DW ticket but I really want to make some blankets now, too!

 

[magicalfoursome]

Wonderful post! I made blankets also but for an organization named Binky Patrol. It was wonderful making these blankets with my family and knowing we could hopefully bring comfort to a child in crises. I dropped mine off today and the piles of blankets I saw made me smile. This Disney program is really wonderful!! Your blankets are beautiful! Just wanted to share a pic of mine--

 

[scottmel]

Me too~~~ never made any before. Our family did 3 this past week and turned them in. DD and I picked up 2 more kits to work on whenever over the summer or when we're bored "just because" - we got hooked on a cause I never heard of utnil this promotion...

 

[pixarmom]

We love Project Linus!! Our local chapter did not participate, so we drove two hours to another chapter's monthly meeting to deliver our GAD blankets (plus an extra mini blanket to donate on behalf of our youngest, who is too young to participate in GAD!) It was a great opportunity for us and our children to meet the coordinator and other volunteers. They were able to ask her questions and learn more about Project Linus. They were happy to have a better sense of exactly where their blankets would go, and asked the coordinator to make sure the personal notes they attached made it to the children who select their blankets. We immediately contacted our local chapter to continue working with this wonderful organization!

OP, do you mind sharing where you found that Cars print fleece? I've seen that in some photos before, and have not been able to find it in local stores - I'd love to find some and use it for future blankets. Thanks!!

 

[mrsR123]

We had a terrific experience, too. My boys and I made flannel quilts with ties that my great-grandmother used to make. It was a nice way to carry on a family tradition and help out some children in need. THe boys thought long and hard about what kind of flannel prints to choose; they wanted to pick something that other boys would think was cool. My DS12 made his entire blanket himself, and DS10 did all the tying after I did the machine sewing. I was so proud of them both.

 

[dburg30]

OP, do you mind sharing where you found that Cars print fleece? I've seen that in some photos before, and have not been able to find it in local stores - I'd love to find some and use it for future blankets. Thanks!!

Hobby Lobby is where I got most of mine. The dino, cars, pooh, duck and baseball was from hobby lobby, the other pink my brother picked up at I think joann's.

 

[VillageMama]

Your post brought tears to my eyes. My son was in the hospital last summer for six weeks (ruptured appendix) and was given a blanket from Project Linus.

When he wasn't using it, I would curl up in a chair with it. That blanket brought comfort to our family during a difficult time and has a place of honor in my son's bedroom now.

I was so touched then and now that a stranger made that blanket for a boy he or she didn't know and wouldn't meet.

Thank you... all of you... who have made blankets for sick or scared children.

 

[pixarmom]

Hobby Lobby is where I got most of mine. The dino, cars, pooh, duck and baseball was from hobby lobby, the other pink my brother picked up at I think joann's.

Thanks! We've been to a couple Joann's, and didn't see it - so this is a great lead!

VillageMama, thanks so much for sharing your story - hope all is well with your family!!

 

[VillageMama]

VillageMama, thanks so much for sharing your story - hope all is well with your family!!

Oh, yes, thank you! He made a complete recovery, even though he received Last Rites three times.

You'd never know now that he had been so sick. He has been swimming up a storm in the pool down here and is VERY excited about going to the MK on Tuesday... his first visit ever!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

What a moving post! Thanks for taking the time to share with us. My DS was born almost 4 weeks early and while he was in the NICU for 10 days he was given a Project Linus small blanket and also an awesome pumpkin knitted beanie hat since he was born in October. I treasure them and display them proudly.

We are doing our GAD this Thursday and can't wait - especially since it involves kids that are abused, neglected and don't know what it's like to have a good time. I hope I survive since I'm such a softie.

The best part of volunteering is the way it makes you feel, isn't it?

Thanks again,
Heather

 

[dawnbu40]

OP I couldn't agree with you more! My family had never heard of Project Linus but signed up and made 4 blankets. We enjoyed making them and my DD found a new hobby. She already made a breast cancer one to benefit the Relay for Life. I love that Disney is promoting volunteerism and that over 600,000 people have already commited to volunteering!

 

[dburg30]

Your post brought tears to my eyes. My son was in the hospital last summer for six weeks (ruptured appendix) and was given a blanket from Project Linus.

Between 6th and 7th grade I had to have my appendix taken out, and as they were in taking it out, it ruptured. I was in for 10 days when mine burst (and had a drain at home to continue getting the infection out for about 2-3 weeks after that, so I can imagine how touch and go it must have been with today's medical advances.

 

[Fionasmommy]

I turned in my blankets today too, and I can't agree more! It's wonderful to be able to take a love of Disney and use it to help others. And I love reading how other DIS'ers have been making blankets too - it's cool to be part of such a large group of people doing so much GOOD! We're pretty awesome around here!

 

[AlexWyattMommy]

I turned our blankets in on Friday.

The coordinator there said that our local chapter has given out 15,000 blankets so far. And that with the 400 national chapters, 3,000,000 blankets have been given to children.

We will continue to do this as a yearly family project.

 

[kristennn]

When my daughter was in the hospital as a 2 year old we got a very pretty blanket with fairies on it from project Linus

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We dropped our blankets off yesterday. We drove over 2 hrs- 2 states away to deliver them. At the time we signed up there were no opportunities in our area for children under 14. This was the only one. We made 5 blankets-- everyone loved making them. DH made his one morning while watching ds2. I was pleasantly surprised he took the task on by himself and got it done!

When we dropped them off at the coordinators home -- she had piles of them. Since GAD they have received 1,000's of them. She said she had piles every--even in storage. She said they gave a poorer church in town 300 of them for the children. She had a bunch of boxes all set to ship to Haiti. She also said that the Lyons club requested 300 of them so they can ship them to haiti too. I was soo teary eyed listening to her talk.

We are excited to be able to help make a difference in someone's life- esp a child's. We have heard of Project Linus before but never contributed. Now we will. DS11 totally got into it. He sat on the couch == whipping along tying his blanket. He asked to make more. So I will keep my eye out when the fabric is on sale. We made 3 really big blankets and 2 smaller blankets.

Hopefully with this promotion by Disney it will spur people to continue to volunteer where they may never have before

 

[SmallWorld71]

I will be the first to admit that I signed up for the Give a Day promo not really thinking about the volunteering, but about the free day at Disney. Anyway, it turned out to be a win-win-win situation. The kids and I volunteered with Boston Cares on their Martin Lunther King, A Day on Not a Day Off activity and it was great. We had a great time and the kids got to help those less fortunate than they and it was a great learning experience. We also now get e-mail updates from Boston Cares, a great organization that we knew nothing about before.

We were visiting family in SW Florida this week and yesterday we used our vouchers for a day at the MK. When we traded in our vouchers, we were given "Honorary VoluntEAR" buttons to wear. I wore the pin all day. Throughout the day, tons of CM's thanked me for volunteering and lots of guests asked about the button and what it meant.

We are so glad to have been a part of this great promotion!