 story & photos by Caroline Wright
Blankets comfort, warm children No matter how warm the heart that gives them, charitable donations sometimes seem rather impersonal. Tax-deductible checks are written and mailed to post office boxes hundreds of miles away. Voluntary payroll deductions are merged and wired to numbered bank accounts in huge cities. Even enthusiastic participation in charity golf tournaments results in a single pooled donation.
"Once I hand a blanket to a child, it's theirs forever. Nobody can take it away from them," said Michelle Seese, founder of the Horry County chapter of Project Linus. The soft-spoken Philadelphia native moved to Myrtle Beach in 1995. A year later, she taught herself how to crochet. "It took me a year and a half to get it right," she laughs. While perfecting her technique, she visited several online chat rooms for crocheting enthusiasts. Then, in 1998, somebody sent her the Web address for something called Project Linus. On Christmas Eve, 1995, Colorado resident Karen Loucks Baker saw a picture of a downy-haired little girl with leukemia, photographed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Eddie Adams. The story, printed in Parade magazine, talked about the child's security blanket, which helped her get through more than two years of intensive chemotherapy. Touched by the article, Baker set a goal: to provide handmade blankets to Denver's Rocky Mountain Children's Cancer Center. Project Linus, named for the blanket-clutching Peanuts character drawn by Charles Schultz, was born. As of August 2000, the non-profit organization has provided over 200,000 security blankets to children around the world. When she first visited the organization's Web site at www.projectlinus.org, Seese searched unsuccessfully for a chapter in the Palmetto State. "I said, 'Well, we're gonna change that!'" she laughed. Seese enlisted the help of her online friends, who spread the word among crocheters and knitters. The blankets began to arrive. "I would come home and there would be a package at my door to Project Linus, with a beautiful blanket inside." Seese received handmade blankets from Greenville, Hemingway, Dillon, and Charleston in South Carolina. Other blankets came from North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and even as far away as Arizona. After receiving 20 blankets, Seese made her first delivery, to Citizens Against Spousal Abuse (CASA).
Last year, Seese delivered blankets to a psychiatric facility, now closed, in Conway. "There was a little boy, just five or six years old. He had been seriously abused, locked in a closet for weeks. He was so disassociative that it took a nurse 20 minutes to make him understand that he could keep the blanket. Once he realized it, he wouldn't let go of it." Project Linus now has ten chapters in South Carolina. Grand Strand Hospital and Conway Hospital have received blankets from the Horry County chapter of Project Linus. Seese's next distribution will go to Georgetown Hospital, and then she will start collecting blankets for Loris Hospital. She reports that a number of individuals have donated blankets, including students and teachers at several Horry County schools. Blanketeer Ava Wendorf estimates that she has provided about a dozen blankets to Project Linus. "But I don't really keep count, because I give away everything I make!" she laughs. The Conway woman lives with Crohn's disease, a severe and painful digestive disorder, and finds that making her "magic blankies" is a soothing activity. With autumn just around the corner, Michelle Seese wants to see more of those soft, fluffy packages arrive at her door. "I'd like to have 150 blankets by Christmas," she said. Handmade crib and standard-sized blankets may be sent to:
Project Linus Donations of fabric, yarn, money and time are gratefully accepted. Assistance can also be provided through www.formycause.com. For more information, call Michelle Seese at 236-2365.
Caroline Wright is a freelance writer. She can be reached via e-mail at c@wrightforyou.com or by phone at 347-5634.
CONTACT WRIGHT FOR YOU |
The "blanketeers" of Project Linus help the community in a uniquely personal way. Their lovingly handmade "security" blankets provide warmth and comfort to seriously ill and traumatized children. 
The handmade blankets are crocheted, knitted, and even quilted; some are fairly simple, and some very intricate. Seese sews a special label on every blanket she distributes. It reads, "Made with Tender Loving Care by Project Linus".