A 7-year-old girl arrived at Camp Erin-King County last summer with her sleeping bag, her swimsuit and a lot of sadness about the recent death of her mom. When she entered the rustic cabin where she'd be staying for the weekend, she found her bunk bed covered with a beautiful handmade quilt that shimmered with a rainbow of colors and patterns.
"It's yours to keep," her cabin counselor assured the girl as she shyly traced the quilt's intricate stitching with her finger. She slept wrapped in her quilt every night at camp, and sleeps with it still.
Thanks to the Seattle chapter of Project Linus, that story is typical at Camp Erin, Providence Hospice of Seattle's annual weekend camp for grieving children and teens.
Quilting for a cause
Founded in 1995, Project Linus, named after the popular Peanuts character who never left home without his security blanket, is a national non-profit organization that provides handmade quilts and blankets to children who are seriously ill or traumatized. Volunteer blanketeers create and donate quilts and blankets to a variety of organizations that serve children, including hospitals, social service agencies, foster care and special camps like Camp Erin-King County.
Queen Anne resident Marilyn Kaiser learned about Project Linus through her daughter, who had seen an episode of Oprah that featured the organization. Knowing that her mother loved to quilt and was looking for a way to contribute to the community, Kaiser's daughter encouraged her to donate a quilt or two to Project Linus. Kaiser did, and soon she was hooked. "I get a wonderful sense of satisfaction from making and giving quilts to Project Linus, knowing that each quilt may bring warmth and happiness to a child in need," she said.
Kaiser is now the coordinator of Project Linus' Seattle chapter. As such, she collects quilts, performs quality control, sews a Project Linus label on each quilt and distributes the quilts to local organizations. Over the last two years, the chapter has donated more than 2,200 quilts and blankets to organizations throughout the Seattle area, including Camp Erin-King County, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, ChildHaven, Family Services Baby Boutique, and Harborview Pediatric Center for Sexual Assault & Traumatic Stress.
Project Linus quilters don't often get to see their quilts in use. But in 2006, Kaiser and chapter member Shirley Cotter, a retired nurse from Magnolia who donates 25-30 quilts every year, were invited to come out to the Camp Erin site in Carnation and see the quilts as campers would first see them: draped on the cabin bunks and topped with plush teddy bears. "It was wonderful to see our quilts with the teddy bears and imagine what the kids' response would be," Kaiser said. "Seeing them got us really excited to start sewing for the next year."
Getting involved
Contact Marilyn Kaiser at seattlelinus@yahoo.com, or check out the chapter's Web site at www.seattlelinus.blogspot.com.[[In-content Ad]]
