Blanketing DC with Love

This year, when I called the local charities to set up a blanket delivery date, they were hoping for my call!

Thanks to the generous contributions from family and friends as well as the generous donation from Thrivent Lutheran that Pauline Anunciacion obtained, we were able to donate a total of 212 blankets to the local DC-area charities listed below.

1) Community Family Life Services | URL: www.cflsdc.org

Provides transitional housing for families. Happy to receive homemade blankets. Prefers variety of types, so clients can select what best suits them.

Contact: Kelly Barry, Manager of Development, kbarry@cflsdc.org or 202-347-0511  ext. 415
Blankets donated: 88

2) Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area | URL: www.lssnca.org

They have two primary groups in need of blankets. They will take as many as we are willing to give:

Refugees: Resettle about 250-300 refugees each year, so the blankets would be very useful for helping furnish their new apartments and making them feel more “homey.” For this program, the blankets could be made of any material.

Teens & Young Adults with HIV/AIDS: Newly expanded program with teens and young adults with HIV/AIDS. The teens will be participating in weekend leadership retreats in a camp setting. Because of the setting, flannel is probably the best material.

Contact: Summer Parrish, Director of Development and Communications, parrishs@lssnca.org or 703-698-5026 ext. 138
Blankets donated: 120

3) Habitat for Humanity | URL: www.habitat.org

Build homes for families. Provided blankets for a family moving into a home built for them by Habitat for Humanity.

Contact: Pauline Anunciacion, Pilgrim Lutheran Church
Blankets donated: 4

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Additional note: If you are a charitable organization in the DC area and are in need of blankets, please contact us directly to let us know more about your need: dcblankets [at] cybersailors.org.

We are planning to donate our blankets to the selected charities below:

1) Community Family Life Services URL: www.cflsdc.org

Provides transitional housing for families. Happy to receive homemade blankets. Prefers variety of types, so clients can select what best suits them.
Contact: Kelly Barry, Manager of Development, kbarry@cflsdc.org or 202-347-0511 ext. 415
Blankets donated: 50

2) Lutheran Social Services | URL: www.lssnca.org

They have two primary groups in need of blankets. They will take as many as we are willing to give:

• Refugees: Resettle about 250-300 refugees each year, so the blankets would be very useful for helping furnish their new apartments and making them feel more “homey.” For this program, the blankets could be made of any material.
• Teens & Young Adults with HIV/AIDS: Newly expanded program with teens and young adults with HIV/AIDS. The teens will be participating in weekend leadership retreats in a camp setting. Because of the setting, flannel is probably the best material.

Contact: Summer Parrish, Director of Development and Stewardship, parrishs@lssnca.org or 703-698-5026 ext. 138
Blankets donated: 77

Below are the charities we donated our blankets in November/December 2008.

1) Community Family Life Services URL: www.cflsdc.org

Provides transitional housing for families. Happy to receive homemade blankets. Prefers variety of types, so clients can select what best suits them.
Contact: Robin Fender, Manager of Development, rfender@cflsdc.org or 202-347-0511 ext. 415
Blankets donated: 31

2) Lutheran Social Services | URL: www.lssnca.org

They have two primary groups in need of blankets. They will take as many as we are willing to give:

• Refugees: Resettle about 250-300 refugees each year, so the blankets would be very useful for helping furnish their new apartments and making them feel more “homey.” For this program, the blankets could be made of any material.
• Teens & Young Adults with HIV/AIDS: Newly expanded program with teens and young adults with HIV/AIDS. The teens will be participating in weekend leadership retreats in a camp setting. Because of the setting, flannel is probably the best material.

Contact: Summer Parrish, Director of Development and Stewardship, parrishs@lssnca.org or 202-723-3000 ext. 199
Blankets donated: 150

3) N Street Village | URL: www.nstreetvillage.org

A shelter/refuge for adult women. Generally like twin-size blankets, but any size we want to make they will accept.
Contact: John Eskate, Community Outreach Coordinator, jeskate@nstreetvillage.org or 202-939-2075
Blankets donated: 34

4) Polaris Project | URL: www.polarisproject.org

Takes a comprehensive approach to combating human trafficking includes operating local and national crisis hotlines, conducting direct outreach and victim identification, providing social services and housing to victims, advocating for stronger state and national anti-trafficking legislation, and engaging community members in local and national grassroots efforts. Will accept any types of adult-size blankets but would also probably accept some children/infant blankets as well.
Contact: Client Services & Transitional Housing 202-745-1001
Blankets donated: 155