Below is an update that I shared with my church… I thought that you might like to see it too. We placed 273 blankets last year in nine hospitals!! And we’re trying to celebrate Breelyn in acts of kindness #BetterBecauseOfBreelyn.
It’s been a little over a year since I first talked to you about Breelyn’s Blanket Brigade. To remind you of the details… Our daughter Breelyn Elizabeth died of SIDS in June 2016 at the age of almost four months. When we were able to see her at the hospital, she’d been covered in a hand-made blanket. We were touched by the gesture. We felt the love of strangers in our darkest moment.
A couple of months went by and I decided that I wanted to learn to make blankets so that I could pass on the love gesture to others. I decided to tell my friends about the project and I called it Breelyn’s Blanket Brigade. I told everyone that I knew about Breelyn’s Blanket Brigade and fortunately, they told others. Soon, I was receiving squares and blankets from family, friends, strangers, colleagues, prisoners, schools, and churches.
We soon partnered with the Center for Infant and Child Loss who now handles the disbursement of the blankets to emergency rooms and labor and delivery departments. In 2017, we provided 273 blankets to nine health care facilities including: Washington Adventist Hospital, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Laurel Regional Hospital, Holy Cross Hospital, University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, St. Joseph Medical Center, University of Maryland Medical System, University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center, and Cook Children’s Hospital in Texas.
While attending a child loss support weekend (A Memory Grows) in Texas, I unexpectedly met parents who had received one of our blankets. The parents relayed how they’d felt so touched by the gesture that complete strangers would show such love. I hate that we met under such circumstances but I’m so very glad that Breelyn’s Blanket Brigade was able to make such a difference in a dark moment.
If you are crafty, please consider joining Breelyn’s Blanket Brigade. Make some squares or blankets. Donate yarn. Help us sew squares together to make blankets. Be sure to check out our live events. Child care is provided.
If you aren’t crafty, consider challenging yourself to do things that make the world better and tell us about it via social media with the tag #BetterBecauseOfBreelyn. Maybe it’s giving an extra big tip on your bill, cleaning up your local park, whatever it is- we want to hear about it. Breelyn lived, and we believe that the world is a better place because she did.
As always, thank you for your love and support.