Project Linus has Delivered Over 10 Million

Security Blankets around the Globe!!!

Colorado is the birthplace of Project Linus.  We are looking forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary Christmas Eve 2025! Since its early days, the Denver chapter has made and delivered over 100,000 blankets to seriously ill and traumatized children locally and worldwide including Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Europe, South America and Asia!

Nationally, the organization has delivered over 10 million handmade security blankets. That’s equal to about one blanket for each resident of Switzerland or of Project Linus Founder Karen’s home state of Virginia! We could not have achieved such an accomplishment without the help of our valuable army of volunteers. School children, civic organizations, religious groups, corporations, fellow non-profits and individuals have all lended helping hands and hearts to bring comfort to children. 

In the Denver metro area, most of our blankets go to Denver Health and The Children’s Hospital as they have the highest populations of pediatric patients. We also regularly deliver to other local hospitals, hospice, police & fire departments, social services, specialty camps, military, Native American reservations, etc.

We sometimes share our blankets with the 300(ish) other chapters around the country when a special need arises (hurricanes, floods, tornado, shooting, etc.) We work with a variety of organizations and individuals who help disperse blankets to children around the globe. Project Linus has become an integral part of the military by helping when a parent is deployed, helping knit a family back together after deployment and providing blankets for children of fallen soldiers.

Please do not deliver directly to the recipient sites if you want your blanket to be considered a Project Linus blanket. We need to inspect each donation for potential hazards. It is only after they have passed our quality control test, that we add our signature Linus tag, insuring it is ready for delivery.

The Denver Chapter NO LONGER ACCEPTS:

  • Blankets made for Court ordered community service (we can’t verify who made the blankets and hours)

  • Polar fleece blankets that have not had ALL selvedge edges removed. That’s two sides for a single and four sides for a double layer. See below for explanation of selvedge edges. Why waste your or your organization’s time and money if you are not going to make blankets that will be utilized by the children we serve? That’s TWO edges on a single layer and FOUR edges on a double. 

Drop Off Locations

We have a variety of drop-off sites for finished blankets around the Denver metro area. These include:

Aurora- Fabric Play Quilting, 16653 E Smoky Hill Rd, Aurora CO 80015  (720) 524-3492

Boulder– JOANN Fabrics and Crafts- Arapahoe Village, 2440 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO 80302 (303) 444-1954

Centennial– Fortis Private Bank, 7006 S. Alton Way, Bldg. B, Centennial 80112, Kathy Turner (303) 694-2265

Centennial– JOANN Fabrics and Crafts- 9090 E Phillips Pl, Centennial, CO 80112 (303) 799-1741

Denver– PAKMAIL, 2443 S University Blvd, Denver, CO Hours: Mon-Fri- 9-6, Saturday 10-4 (303) 744-6245

Evergreen– Karen (303) 478-6652

Highlands Ranch– Lauren (770) 324-0834

Parker– Margaret (720) 301-3462 

Westminster– JOANN Fabrics and Crafts- 9250 Sheridan Boulevard #200, Westminster, CO 80031

We are looking for more blanket drop off sites around town! Businesses make an ideal drop off location as they tend to be a more convenient for our blanket makers (Blanketeers) and bring potential customers through your doors but private homes are fine too. Please contact (303) 478-6652 if you have suggestions. Thanks!

Volunteer Opportunities

All chapters are run by volunteers. The Denver chapter is eager to have participation from the community. Knitters, Crocheters, Quilters and Polar Fleece Tie-ers are lovingly referred to as our Blanketeers. They come in all shapes, ages and sizes. If you are a member of a group -schools, scout troop, church, 4H, civic clubs, MOPS, book club, guild, family night, etc.- who would like to have a fun, team building activity, making Project Linus blankets can be the answer!

The Denver area is blessed with prolific blanketeers and we sometimes find ourselves overwhelmed with the task of labeling the blankets we receive. It’s as simple as hand or machine sewing a shirt-tag sized label to blankets that have passed our quality check. If you or your group would like to assist us with this endeavor, we would be thrilled!

There are many other volunteer activities available if blanket making is not your cup of tea. Some suggestions include Fundraising, Labeling, Delivering, Public Relations, Event Assistance, etc. but we are also open to your suggestions and skills. And as always, tax deductible monetary donations are always very helpful. Please let us know if your employer provides matching funds. Adding Project Linus Denver to your will is a great way to continue your giving spirit and legacy. Happy to answer any questions you may have about this.

Contact Project Linus Founder, Denver Coordinator & Author of Working for Peanuts: The Project Linus Story for details- (303) 478-6652 or karen@karenloucks.com

Blanket Specifications 

KNITTERS and CROCHETERS- over the past few years, less and less hospitals are accepting knitted and crocheted blankets with the exception of small ones. We have been asked to not deliver blankets that are over 36″ x 36″. The facilities seem to be okay with sharing them with babies but not older children. They only want small baby blankets. 

WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING POLAR FLEECE BLANKETS THAT HAVE ANY SELVEDGE EDGES remaining on them– Please see the illustrations below or call if you have questions. As volunteers, we do not have time to fix improperly made blankets.  Please do not waste your time or money by donating poorly made blankets. They will not be donated to the children we serve or count for school service hours. 

  • Blankets must be handmade and unused (no store-bought).
  • We cannot accept blankets with strong odors- examples- smoke, perfume or Fabreeze type products. Some of our recipient children are immune compromised, allergic or very sensitive to carcinogens. It is extremely difficult to remove tar, nicotine and other chemicals from fibers. A simple wash through a washing machine is not adequate and masking it with a Fabreeze type product or perfumey fabric softener can exacerbate the situation.
  • If you have pets (and many of us do), please keep them away from the blankets. Some children are allergic to animals, so it is imperative that we avoid these irritants. And we all as humans shed too. Please carefully look at your finished project and remove all hair from the blanket.
  • Sizes-  We deliver blankets to children ranging from neonatal to young adult.
    • Quilts – all sizes are welcome
    • Knitted and Crocheted– No larger than 36″ x 36″ please.
    • Polar Fleece
      • Sewn or surged- all sizes are welcome
      • Tied- please have the fabric cut from the bolt at the store at a 1  1/2 yard length. The width will be perfect. 
  • When buying polar fleece fabric, please make sure it is NON PILLING. Otherwise, the fabric will start shredding as soon as a cut is made. These blankets are disposed of as they shed fuzzies everywhere. 
  • We no longer accept blankets that have not had all selvedge edges removed. I know you have read this repeatedly yet we still receive bags of poorly constructed made blankets that do not follow our guidelines and are destroyed. If you’re making polar fleece blankets, please trim off BOTH selvedge edges PER LAYER as Step 1 before cutting the fringe. Again, that is two edges (see below) per layer. Two edges on a single layer- four edges on a double.  It takes too much of our volunteer time to fix what could have easily been done properly at the beginning of the project. The selvedge are the two side edges on each layer that curl up, have pin holes, and test patterns. It only takes a few seconds at the beginning of the project, and makes for a much more attractive blanket. 
  • Please do not fringe or put dangling embellishments or buttons on blankets intended for babies or young children as they may present a choking hazard.
  • All child and young adult patterns are welcome. There are suggested patterns on the Project Linus. 
  • We are often asked if we have a special needs and that would be boy or neutral gender themed blankets. The vast majority that we receive tend to be traditional female friendly colors and designs- yet we serve just as many boys as we do girls.

Monetary Donations

Project Linus is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Monetary donations are tax deductible. Donation receipts are available for blankets and Items in Kind donations.  Blanketeers should keep store receipts when buying supplies, as that is what the IRS uses to value the items, vs. what the value of the finished blanket might be.  Please contact your tax preparer for specific questions.

Each coordinator is responsible for fundraising to support their individual chapter. Funds help support the chapter when paying for blanket making materials for events, shipping costs, blanket tags, delivery bags, promotional items and office supplies. If a check is sent to our national headquarters, it will be placed in a general fund unless it is specifically earmarked as “For the Denver Chapter.” Checks should be made to “Project Linus” and sent to Project Linus Denver, 28109 Mariposa Rd, Evergreen, CO 80439 to make sure they are properly credited to our chapter.  You can also go onto the national web site www.projectlinus.org and specifically request that your donation is used for the Denver chapter.

 

To learn more about our national events and chapters, please visit:

Project Linus National Web Site:  www.projectlinus.org

Local Questions? Call Project Linus Denver at 303-478-6652