Appeal for volunteers to join charity organisation giving homemade blankets to children

Pictures from a previous sewing day holding quilts and blankets made

Project Linus UK is a volunteer organisation which provides patchwork quilts, and knitted or crochet blankets to sick, disabled or disadvantaged children throughout the UK.

Brenda Pack is Coordinator for Lincolnshire and said: “I’ve been involved with Project Linus UK for five years as a Coordinator.”

Volunteers donate as much or as little time they have creating quilts and blankets which are then given to children who are in need.

Patchworking has always been a hobby of Brenda’s who said: “I’ve always been a patchwork and quilt maker, my children and family don’t need anymore quilts making.”

According to Project Linus UK statistics, roughly 2000 quilts and blankets are distributed throughout the UK each month and to date 272,303 blankets have been donated since the organisation came to the UK in 2000.

The website includes a variety of free quilt patterns which can be downloaded online.

The organisation is calling for more volunteers to help ease the workload, and this is where Brenda comes in.

Brenda lives locally in Ruskington and would like to encourage budding knitters to create quilts and blankets which can then be donated to children.

Nottingham Children’s Ward is a hospital which Brenda visits regularly to give children homemade quilts which have been sent to her.

“Its quite rewarding when travelling to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham and seeing children who are eager for the quilts. We provide a sense of comfort for vulnerable children” said Brenda.

Along with her role as a Coordinator for Lincolnshire, Brenda organises regular sewing days in Ruskington encouraging local residents and visitors to come and enjoy the craft, and start making quilts.

“Part of my job as Lincolnshire Coordinator is that I give talks to raise money for buying fabrics. It is quite an expensive hobby buying all of the materials,” explains Brenda.

The next sewing day will take place at Ruskington Methodist Church Hall on September 20 from 10am to around 4pm. Due to a limited number of machines available, the day can accommodate 20 or so people, so please email Brenda on: [email protected] to ensure there are enough places left.

To find out more about Project Linus UK or to volunteer your time with the charity visit: http://projectlinusuk.org.uk or search for Project Linus on Facebook. You can also donate to Project Linus UK by following the Paypal link on the homepage of Project Linus website.