Blanket Parties, Project Dates, and Other Updates

On Sunday, February 15th, The Bundle Up Club co-sponsored a blanket party with the girl's/women's ministry of Trinity Baptist Church. The Bundle Up Club, along with members of Trinity, sponsored the purchase of fleece to make blankets for the teens currently residing at the Cypress Hill Youth Home. The Bundle Up Club cut the fleece and got it ready, and then got together with some girls and ladies from Trinity to make the blankets. Twenty-eight attended the party, and we were able to make all 41 of the blankets in just 2 1/2 hours! Some other ladies from Trinity have volunteered to personalize the blankets by embroidering the names of the teens on them, and once that is complete, a representative from Trinity will deliver the blankets to the students at the Home. We are so thankful for the opportunity to partner with such a wonderful group of people, and we look forward to the possibility of more co-sponsorships in the future!

 

As you know, our next two projects for this year will be for kids with cancer who are treated at the Jimmy Everest Center of OU Medical in OKC, and for those who struggle with homelessness in the OKC area through the OKC Metro House of Hope and Pastors Vernon and Marilyn Carter. The childhood cancer project will begin March 1st and will end on June 30th. Our goal is to complete at least 50 hats and blankets. We will take the month of July off for fundraising and organization, and then we will start the homeless project August 1st. The ending date for this project will be November 14th, and our goal is to make at least 75 hats, blankets, and scarves to be distributed before the beginning of winter.

 

We have scheduled a scarf loom/blanket-making party for Saturday, March 21st from 2:00-5:00 p.m. Most everyone has learned how to make hats with the knitting loom, so at this party we will teach those interested how to use a knitting loom to make scarves. We have also purchased enough fleece for 27 blankets, and we will be making these blankets as well. Make plans now to come join us for food, fellowship, and fun! *If possible, please bring your own scarf loom and yarn. Scarf looms come in various sizes and look like this

This package is available at Joann's Fabrics and can be purchased online or in store for $24.99. It contains a hook, yarn needle, and 4 sizes of looms. Walmart also carries scarf looms occasionally. If you can't find one or purchase one, no worries, we have a few available to loan.

Also, if you'd like to start working on hats for the Jimmy Everest Center kids, please be sure to get yarn that is soft and not itchy as this would be uncomfortable for bald heads. We found some at our local Walmart that would work well and is relatively inexpensive at $2.97 per skein.           
                                  
The age range for the kids treated at the center is 2-18, so we will need various hat sizes. We will be making standard size blankets (4 yards - two 2-yard pieces) for this project.

Right now, our biggest limitation is a financial one. We were able to raise enough money from our bake sale (about $600) to purchase the fleece for 27 blankets and the yarn for about 25 hats. This is obviously only enough for us to make it half way to our goal. We are accepting donations of fleece, yarn, and money, so if you'd like to give, please contact us for our address. You can make checks payable to The Bundle Up Club, or you can donate online through our gofundme page. The link is on the right side-bar of this page. Sponsorships are also available. To sponsor a child with cancer, the cost is $25 to purchase and make a blanket and hat. To sponsor a person who struggles with homelessness, a donation of $35 would cover the cost of materials for a blanket, hat, and scarf.

We really appreciate all of your help and support, and are excited about what God is doing and the opportunities we have to serve this year!