Service Project: Project Linus

Project Linus is an organization that "provide(s) love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer(s).”  The Cincinnati Chapter distributes the blankets "through dozens of sites, including hospitals, social service agencies, shelters, pregnancy centers, police/fire/EMS units, etc. in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton & Warren Counties in Southwestern Ohio."  In January 2013, I entered a blog post about Thinking Day.  I wrote, "the (Thinking Day) theme for 2013 is 'together we can change children's lives,' and 'every mother's life and health is precious.'  Our girls have decided to make fleece blankets for Project Linus this year."  I asked readers to check back to read about the project.  I recently realized I failed to come through with the post.  Here we are an entire year later...

Our Daisy and Brownie troops combined to work on these blankets.  In the months leading up to our February event, I watched for sales on fleece at various fabric stores.  I purchased this fleece on sale at JoAnn's, also using a 40% off coupon. 

Here are the Cincinnati Chapter Fleece Blanket Guidelines from their website:

The Cincinnati, OH Chapter prefers single-layer fleece blankets. While we can place a certain number of double-layer blankets, most of the facilities receiving our blankets find them too heavy.

• Baby -- 1 yard, cut in half yielding two 30" X 36" blankets. Finish with a hemmed or crocheted edge. (no fringe, please)
• Toddler -- 1¼ yds
• Child -- 1½ yds 
• Teen -- 2 yds 

Blankets, just like kids, come in many sizes. They need not be these exact dimensions.

Please refer to this website for additional instructions and considerations.  The website discusses purchasing supplies, preparing the fleece, cutting the fleece, tying the fleece.  It also provides diagrams and troubleshoots potential problems.  My advice to you...use a good pair of scissors!

Our girls voted to complete the extra steps required by Project Linus to earn the official Blanketeer patch.  The patch measures approximately 3 inches high and 2 inches across and features Linus himself clutching his signature blankie.  They can be ordered from the Chapter for $1.75 each.  To earn this patch, every girl had to make a blanket to donate.  They had to recruit someone to make an additional blanket to donate.  They had to donate money or supplies to the organization.  A portion of the money the troops earned through the Cookie Sale was used to cover the cost of the fleece and some supplies for the organization.  I contacted our Chapter for a Wish List, but this link will give you an idea of the requests.  Knowing other family members would be making additional blankets, I purchased more fleece than we needed for the girls.  Several mothers reimbursed me for this extra fleece.  It was a good deal for all of us.  Please note that the Chapter Coordinator has changed since we worked on this project.  I would suggest contacting the Chapter before starting a project to learn of any changes that may have been made over the last year. 

Since our girls were Daisies and younger Brownies, we leaders decided to prepare the blankets before the meeting.  I placed a number on each blanket.  When the girls arrived at the meeting, they were given a number.  One by one, they claimed the fleece they would tie.  This not only saved us time, but there were no issues with girls not getting the print they wanted.  They spread out and got to work.  We leaders were happy with our decision to prepare the blankets in advance because several of the younger girls needed our attention as they were tying their fringe.  Most of the girls finished their blankets within the hour-long meeting.  Please refer to this website for drop-off locations and instructions.  Thank you for reading!

Lead, Guide, Direct...

GSUSA has developed a National Program Portfolio that "is designed to help girls develop as leaders and build confidence by learning new skills."  This program has two parts:  the National Leadership Journeys and The Daisy Girls' Guide to Girl Scouting.  I do not have any experience with the Journeys.  However, the Journeys link provided in this post states "On every leadership journey, everything girls do...is aimed at giving them the benefits of the Girl Scout 'Keys to Leadership':  Discover, Connect, Take Action."  The Journeys at each level of Girl Scouts are designed to complement The Girls' Guide to Girl Scouting.

The Guides are divided into three sections:  handbook, badges, my Girl Scouts.  I purchased a Daisy binder for my own use.  After flipping through it, I decided to save our families some money and developed my own version of the Guide for each girl in our troop.  I took advantage of back-to-school sales and purchased royal blue folders with pockets and clips for $0.15 each.  I spent one evening creating a Word document including the following information:

1. Girl Scout Mission, Promise, and Law
2. Girl Scout Calendar--including dates and descriptions for Thinking Day, Girl Scout Birthday, and Founder's Day
3. Ceremonies--including descriptions of Opening, Closing, Investiture, and Bridging Ceremonies
4. Girl Scout Sign, Handshake, Slogan, and Motto
5. Daisy Girl Scout Petals--including the Law component and its corresponding petal color
6. Our Uniform--including an explanation as to why we wear a uniform, a description of the Daisy pin and the WAGGGS pin and where these pins are placed on the uniform
7. Service Projects--I will include this section in a future post...
8. Our Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance--including a description of the meaning of the flag's colors and how to stand while reciting the Pledge.  I also added definitions of the larger words to help the younger girls.
9. Songs--including lyrics (only) to the following songs (all were copied and pasted from various websites):  "Daisy Gathering Song," "Make New Friends (But Keep the Old)," "America the Beautiful," "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," "God Bless America," "This Land is Your Land," and the first verse of the "Star Spangled Banner."  I included definitions of many of the words in the "Star Spangled Banner" along with the story of the meaning of our National Anthem.  

I printed out the 10 pages of text for each girl, punched holes in the left margin, and secured them neatly in the clips of the folder.  I printed out a tag that I taped on the front of each folder.  I used Times New Roman (34 font) to type "Brooke's Guide to Daisy Girl Scouts," for example.  

I used Excel to create a Service Project Record Sheet, and I used Word to modify a Daisy Petal Checklist I found online.  These forms are kept in the blue folders.  I update them regularly, so the girls and their families can follow their progress.

Whether you choose to purchase a Girls' Guide from the Council Shop or create something similar on your own, this is a great resource for the girls.  Thanks for reading!