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Project Linus volunteers provide handmade blankets for Albuquerque's smallest denizens
Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune
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Wylene Santistevan (left) and Lorna Anderson share a laugh as they work on their blankets at the Bear Canyon Senior Center. The work these women do - in addition to the work of hundreds of other women in the Albuquerque chapter of Project Linus - benefits young children in need. One of those children is Kaden, who weighed 1 pounds at birth and is spending his early days in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at University of New Mexico Hospital. "It's amazing they (volunteers) take the time and donate the money and material," said Kaden's mom, Meredith Hoyer.
Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune
Tribune
Carol Wells, a Project Linus member, works on a sweater for a premature baby at the Bear Canyon Senior Center. The Bear Canyon group is one of at least 20 in the Albuquerque area devoted to contributing to Project Linus.
Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune
Tribune
Meredith Hoyer lifts a baby blanket as she checks on her newborn son, Kaden, in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at University of New Mexico Hospital. The blanket was donated by Project Linus' Albuquerque chapter. Project Linus makes and donates blankets to hospitals, police departments and other organizations.
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For Meredith Hoyer, a handmade blanket provides more than warmth to her infant son.
It helps cut down on visual stimulation, mimicking the womb to provide more rest for Kaden, born two months early and weighing 1 1/2 pounds at birth.
Hoyer will probably never meet the quilt-maker, but that random kindness will forever be stitched in her heart long after she leaves the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Behind the handmade creation is one of many women who volunteer their time for Project Linus, a nonprofit organization that provides blankets and handmade items to people in need.
"It's amazing they (volunteers) take the time and donate the money and material," Hoyer said.
Winter is the busiest time for the Albuquerque chapter, which delivers to about 37 local organizations.
Project Linus, which has chapters throughout the United States, began in 1995. The Albuquerque group started in 1999.
Gail Doherty, coordinator for Project Linus' Albuquerque chapter, said the group has delivered more than 20,000 blankets and handmade items this year.
The group makes baby blankets, sweaters for premature babies, afghans and other hand-stitched items.
All the yarn is donated to Project Linus, and some drop-off sites receive donations of handmade blankets. For a list of drop-off sites, visit NMLinus.org.
Some of the places the Albuquerque chapter delivers to are homeless shelters, charities, hospitals, police stations, Kirtland Air Force Base and the New Mexico National Guard.
Carol Driscall, a volunteer at Bear Canyon Senior Center, said it makes her feel good to know the blankets are going to people in need.
"I get teary, actually," she said. "You have to have a stone heart not to be moved."
Driscall said it's especially evident when she sees all the blankets that have been made.
"When we do our show-and-tell and hold up a blanket, I can see kids going gaga over that," Driscall said.
Bear Canyon is one of at least 20 groups in the Albuquerque area, not including women who make blankets on their own or with friends, devoted to contributing to Project Linus.
Most of the women are in their 50s and 60s, and at least half are widowed.
Doherty said making the blankets is good for the women who volunteer.
"This is such a terrific therapy for the ladies," she said. "In this room, we have women who recently lost their husbands. These women establish friendships and go out to lunch."
Carol Wells, who makes sweaters for premature babies, said she feels good that her therapy will provide comfort and security to somebody else.
"It makes me feel absolutely wonderful," she said. "It's an ongoing need."
Kathie Esquibel Baca, neonatal development specialist at UNM Hospital, said the babies and the mothers at the Newborn Intensive Care Unit are given a blanket made with care.
"When you watch the women doing their work, they put a lot of love into it," she said.
She said it is a big help to premature babies who need even more sleep than term babies for their development. They need more than 20 hours of sleep a day.
The blanket covers the crib to give them a dark, calm environment and cut down on noise.
Hoyer's son has developed quite well, thanks to her loving care and the handmade blanket he slept under.
Hoyer, whose son is now 5 pounds, said she wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in his blanket and take him home for Christmas. However, she will have to wait just a little bit longer, until he can eat fully on his own.
