Jennifer Youngblood of Morrilton has a heart for children and hands for crafting, so she brought the two together to start Project Linus in Conway County.
Youngblood, who is project coordinator for Conway County, said she and other volunteers make quilts, blankets and afghans, which they plan to donate to the Morrilton Police Department and the Department of Children and Family Services’ Conway County office to give to children who have experienced an upsetting or traumatic event.
The national, nonprofit organization named for the Peanuts comic-strip character Linus van Pelt, who always carries a blanket, is based in Missouri.
Youngblood said this is the second Project Linus chapter in Arkansas; the first was in Fort Smith.
“I’ve been sewing since I was in elementary school,” she said. “I knew that Project Linus was out there and what it did, and I’ve always wanted to do more stuff for the kids who were having problems because I was one of those growing up.”
Youngblood said she grew up in California, and her father moved the family to Morrilton when she was 13.
“We just grew up in hard times,” she said. “We had eight kids in our family, and sometimes it was hard to scrape together a little bit of food to feed all of us.”
They first lived in an Army tent on the property her father bought, which eventually became a chicken farm.
“I really remember waking up to a calf sticking its head in the tent … waking me up with a lick in the face,” she said, laughing. Later, the family lived in a three-bedroom trailer on the property and thought they were in heaven, she said.
“Good times; it’s what made us what we are,” she said.
Youngblood said she wanted to use her sewing talents to help children.
“I looked and looked because I wanted to make blankets and donate them to Project Linus, but there was nothing in
Arkansas at the time. I raised my hand and said, ‘I’m going to do it,’” she said.
In November, she launched the Project Linus chapter in Conway County. She enlisted the help of Fran Brewer, owner of The Fabric Patch and More in Morrilton.
Youngblood said Brewer allows the group to use a classroom at the store for sew-ins the second Saturday of each month and provides a shelf to store materials.
“Members can sew at their own homes. They can get fabric from The Fabric Place or from the stash we keep, and Project Linus will pay for it,” she said.
Although quilts have been the group’s focus, volunteers may make fleece, crocheted or knitted blankets of all sizes.
“We prefer something 50 inches by 60 inches, but it can be anywhere from a 36-inch square up to a twin size,” Youngblood said. The blankets need to be new and handmade, free of pet hair and odors, such as cigarette smoke. No attachments, such as buttons, are allowed.
Brewer, who opened her shop in May, said she was happy when Youngblood approached her about starting a Project Linus chapter.
“I’ve worked with Project Linus before. … I’ve done sit-and-sews and made quilts for it when I lived on the West Coast, so I’ve known about it for a long time. I was really excited when she said she got it going here,” Brewer said. “I made my first quilt when my son was born back in 1972; then I didn’t sew for a long, long time. I really got into quilting in the late ’90s.”
Youngblood said the group donated five quilts in December to the Morrilton Police Department.
Morrilton Assistant Police Chief Trent Anderson said he appreciates the project.
“A lot of times, we deal with [the Department of Human Services] when kids are being taken away or parents are being arrested,” he said. “Anything that’s reaching out trying to help kids like that is going to be good. I’m glad people try to find a way to help. We appreciate it, and we really don’t have a budget for things like that.”
The Police Department has teddy bears that it gives to children, but he said the quilts will be another way to help them. The quilts are kept at the department, he said, because they are too big to carry around in the patrol cars.
None of the quilts had been given away as of last week.
“We haven’t found the right opportunity yet,” Anderson said.
The next set of quilts or blankets will be donated to the Department of Children and Family Services’ Conway County office in Morrilton to give to foster children.
“I think it will be wonderful,” said Brandy Cochran, county supervisor for the office. “We try to give them a small stuffed animal or something, just to give them a little bit of comfort.”
Especially when an older child is taken from a shelter and moved to a home, “it gives them something that’s theirs. They get to keep it with them and take it with them,” she said.
Youngblood said more volunteers — called “blanketeers” on the national Project Linus website — are needed.
“We have a few [volunteers] right now, but we’re just getting started. Every day, we get more,” Youngblood said.
Anyone who wants to volunteer may call her at (501) 215-4360 or Brewer at (501) 289-6512.
Brewer said people can drop off finished quilts at the store, 309 E. Broadway St., or come to the sew-ins to work. Donations of fabric, thread and crochet yarn are accepted, too, she said.
Youngblood said the project is rewarding.
“I enjoy it. My No. 1 love has always been quilting. It’s so therapeutic for different things, and growing up with a family of eight kids — I love kids; I have four of my own and two grandbabies — I like doing for others. It makes me feel good.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.