Blankets for Canada: Warming Canadians Since 1998
Thanks to Blankets for Canada, thousands of people can now face the harsh Canadian winter with the kind of protection they need.
Even a great nation has its disadvantaged people, and that's why Blankets for Canada started delivering toasty knitted blankets to Canadians in need in 1998.
Canadian winters can be some of the harshest on Earth. Meanwhile, the costs of utilities continue to rise, especially for such essentials has natural gas and heating oil. Something as simple as a knitted blanket can make the difference between surviving a cold northern winter -- or not.
WARM-HEARTED KNITTERS
Blankets for Canada was inspired by the Craft Yarn Council of America's Warm Up America! Project, which sponsors similar efforts in the USA. In 1998, founder Nancy Panting was visiting her sister in Missouri when she found her crocheting 7 x 9-inch pieces for the CYCA. Nancy, an avid crocheter, pitched in.
The project got Nancy to thinking. Soon, she and her husband Stu, a knitter, were looking around for a similar project in Canada that they could contribute to. Amazingly, there were none, so they created their own.
In August 1998, they announced their new organization to the local paper, the Lethbridge Herald. Just over a year later, the mayor recognized Blankets for Canada as an official charity -- something that usually requires 4-6 years.
It wasn't long before they were meeting twice a week in a donated space at Lethbridge Centre Mall. More and more people began to participate, and the number of volunteer hours soon rose to over 36,000 a year, both at the mall and in their homes. That doesn't even count all the donated yarn.
KIDS CAN DO IT, SO WHY CAN'T WE?
In fall 1998, the charity got a boost when a fifth and sixth grade class in Nobleford, Alberta took on Blankets for Canada as their school project. At that point, only two of the 65 students in the school had ever crocheted or knitted -- but soon they were old pros.
It was attractive homework, and many of the students, both boys and girls, found it addicting. By the end of the school year, they'd made enough squares to stitch together into two blankets.
Can we do less?
LET'S KNIT SOME BLANKETS, EH?
Blankets for Canada may have been started by Canadians for Canadians, but they welcome contributions from anywhere. If you'd like to learn more, see the Blankets for Canada website.
Blankets for Canada isn't picky about how you stitch your blankets, but they prefer bright colors. They also recommend that you put them together from either 8 x 8 inch squares, 48 of which will make a 48 x 64-inch blanket, or from 64-inch strips of whatever width you prefer. Making the blanket from strips makes it easier to sew it all together.
