History

Some may wonder, how did Children’s Blankets of Love begin? It all started out when my twin grandsons were in the third grade around Christmas time! All excited as most children, we had a talk about how fortunate they are to live in the USA and have loving parents and grandparents, and all the gifts they receive compared to other children less likely to receive.

They often referred to other children in their school as the “less likely ones”.

We decided they should have a Christmas Project that would last all year. After an hour of thinking and discussing, we came up with the idea of providing sick children in the hospitals with new blankets. My children and grandchildren always had their own blanket.

I contacted a Salon in Wilmington for their permission to place a box for the collection. We collected 350 new blankets with that one box! The twins and I, with their mom and grandfather, delivered the blankets to the children’s hospital in Wilmington. The hospital was appreciative. I thought if we could acquire 350 blankets with one box, we could expand with more boxes.

The next year we asked The Knights of Columbus to help and they did. Boxes were placed in a local coffee shop and we had interviews with a local tv station and received 500 blankets. However, the next two years Covid was a huge hindrance! With the assistance of a few Knights, we continued to collect 500/600 blankets. We donated them to Duke Children’s Hospital, UNC Children’s Hospital and WakeMed Children’s Hospital.  

The summer between the last two years, I received a call from UNC Children’s Hospital requesting blankets as they did not have any. My husband phoned a couple of his friends, and I received $1000 and shopped for blankets. Do you know how difficult it is to find blankets in July? I found $1000 worth of blankets and my husband and I delivered them to UNC Children’s Hospital. 

It was then that I realized the importance of these blankets! My goal is to widen the opportunity for everyone to donate.

Thank you for your interest in Children’s Blankets of Love!

Sincerely,

Barbara Marchioni, President