DIDSBURY - A new Project Linus chapter has been started in the district, with volunteer members providing comfort to young people and their families whose lives have been impacted by tragedy and crisis.
Founded in 1988, Project Linus in Canada is a volunteer-driven, non-profit registered charity that supports children who have lost a parent or sibling, had their homes damaged or destroyed in fires or other disasters, are going into foster care, have been diagnosed with debilitating disease such as cancer or have been seriously injured in an accident or other mishap.
Project volunteers knit blankets for the kids, using needles, hooks, yarn and fabric to create comfortable coverings for impacted younsters.
Linda Forsyth is the coordinator of the new Didsbury-based chapter of Project Linus. The Didsbury chapter will be based out of her home.
“We’ve had blankets donated to us already and I’ve just finished this week giving out blankets to a family in Didsbury that had lost their home,” said Forsyth. “Victims Services is waiting for an order from us. We’re just putting that together to drop off to them.
“Schools have taken our project information so that we can supply to them when they have children in need.”
Under Project Linus, the children and families receiving blankets are not named to protect their privacy, she said.
Forsyth and other Project Linus volunteers will be out in the district asking for sponsorships, she said.
“We are looking for volunteers, as well as for donations and sponsorships,” she said.
Anyone interested in helping out or making donations can call Forsyth at 403-404-4264.
There are currently more than 40 Project Linus chapters in Canada.
“There are many different kinds of needs, not all of which can be filled by a bureaucracy,” Project Linus officials said on the organization’s website. “When the world goes crazy and a child feels like a speck of dust, the gift of a blanket from someone who made it with love and care is huge.
“Someone who doesn’t know the child but knows their need to feel safe and warm, loved and cared for in a life gone crazy; someone who made this for them to hug and to hold and wrap themselves up in without asking for anything in return.”
For more information, see www.projectlinuscanada.org.
