Photo credit: Project Linus website.

A sizeable fire at Extra Storage damaged a number of units on January 7, including one used by SCV Project Linus, a local all-volunteer nonprofit. The off-campus materials including 200 blankets that were ready for delivery, along with an estimated $6,000 in supplies, were contaminated by smoke. Project Coordinator Sharon Garvar, along with her Academy of the Canyons students who run the organization, asked for the community’s help and were granted their wish not only by community members, but by the local Joann Fabric and Craft store who contacted their corporate office to help resupply their lost fabric.

“Since Joann is a drop off for people to make donations of blankets or supplies, I went into the Canyon Country store to let them know what happened and tell them that I was hoping the community would be dropping off donations. One of the managers took the press release I gave her and contacted the corporate office, and together, they worked to surprise me with a very generous donation of fleece. It was an amazing gift and completely unexpected!” said Sharon Garvar, Chapter Coordinator. “The donation is large enough that if people want to come to our event on March 9th at College of the Canyons, we do not need to require that they bring fleece when they stay and work.”

The Make a Blanket Day is a bi-annual event where community members come and make blankets for critically ill and traumatized children that will be delivered to various facilities that work with children including Henry Mayo NICU, Michael Hoefflin Foundation, and DCFS in Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita to name a few. “We make blankets and deliver them year round,” Garvar says. “Unfortunately, there are always children in need.”

This February, the chapter is celebrating its sixth year of operation and has delivered almost 10,000 blankets. It is run by Garvar and her students at Academy of the Canyons Middle College High School as part of a business class called Nonprofit Ventures where students learn the inner workings of how to run a nonprofit business in their community.

“They run all the social media, public relations, and event campaigns. They learn so much more than various blanket making skills when they walk into the class,” Garvar explains. “They learn how nonprofit work impacts their community and what it takes to run a successful business.”

To make it easy for the community to contribute, instructions on how to make a blanket, as well as the types of fleece that can be used for blanket-making, are available at ​www.scvprojectlinus.org​.

Jo-Ann, a fabric store in Canyon Country, is a drop-off location for those who want to give. Community members can also stop by the store on February 16, as they’ll have a dedicated staff member to show customers how to make blankets. The Make a Blanket day event will also have a drop off option for service hours which is new this year. Please see their sign up on the website for details.

SCV Project Linus is also hosting Make A Blanket Day on March 9 at the College of the Canyons East Gym from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Blankets can also be dropped off on this date.

About Project Linus
It is the mission of the Santa Clarita/Sylmar/Antelope Valley Project Linus chapter to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children in need who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.” The goal is also to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities. Visit ​www.scvprojectlinus.org​ for more information.