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I work with a local chapter of Quilts4Kids.....I can't afford the postage to mail things so I make a bunch and deliver them to a lady that hands them off to a coordinator who has arranged to have things delivered to various charities....I am sure there should be a local chapter of Linus that would LOVE to work with you....Google your questions.....

I belong to two local guilds, and each of them have charity groups. One makes kid quilts for homeless shelters and for one shelter for abused women. The other makes quilts for Quilts of Valor and for the VA hospital, especially wheelchair quilts. Another guild not too far from us donates quilts to the fire and police departments, and another donates preemie quilts to a NICU. Also, the school district we are located in has a program to teach expectant teen moms life skills, especially in infant care, and we donate quilts which are given to the new babies. I also saw a website for making activity quilts for Alzheimer's patients, which could be delivered to nursing homes where they have Alzheimer's patients.

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Originally Posted by Daylesewblessed (Post 7179191)

I was a Project Linus coordinator for a few years, and I spent about 30 hours/week doing it. Unfortunately, after becoming coordinator, I had very little time to do any quilting. In addition to administrative work, delivering blankets, setting up meetings, etc., I spent a lot of time mending and washing some of the donations that came in. However, I must say that the coordinatorship was very rewarding work, and I gained skills in non-profit leadership.

How much work there is to being a Project Linus coordinator depends on several factors. The size of the local organization and the number of volunteers makes a difference. The local chapters of Linus have very little structure and have only one person who is accountable (the coordinator). It is the coordinator's responsibility to recruit, train, and delegate work to volunteers. The more successful he/she is with that, the smoother the chapter will function and the more it will grow. With growth comes more work. There is a big difference in handling 50 blankets/month compared to 250!

I believe that projectlinus.org has a section of the website addressing interest in starting chapters.

I strongly believe in the Linus mission and continue to be a blanketeer, but I am happy to now have time to make quilts for other charities also.

I had to laugh a little when I saw this post. I got recruited by our local Linus Project Chapter through the quilt guild I belonged to. Our local Linus Chapter produces between 800 and 1000+ quilt donations a month. We have one coordinator who handles stuff on the national level and a helper who records all of the donations and acts as the drop off and pick up place. She also provides her generous family room for our monthly sort. Ironically our local county has only one hospital. We always make sure they get at least 100+ quilts a month. The rest are distributed to hospitals in the Baltimore metro area. We have a number of volunteers who pick up the quilts after they are sorted and take them to the Baltimore hospitals. For most of those volunteers it is probably a 60 mile round trip. I don't know about other chapters but our volunteers make a lot of blankets by crocheting an edge around pieces of polar fleece. We also have lots of volunteers who make beautiful blankets by crocheting or knitting. I make both the fleece ones and others made from very large scale pieced blocks or kid friendly panels that I then machine quilt at least 4" apart. It has been my experience that many of the families who receive the Linus Quilts don't know how to care for handwork. That is why I make mine colorful and simple. I probably have 100 thank you notes I have received from grateful children or families of children. Being involved with Linus gives me an excuse to purchase more fabric and supplies without so much guilt. My own grandchildren and children all have quilts that I made just for them.

There is always the option to provide lap quilts to nursing homes, or quilts to hospice patients. Another option is to work with your local law enforcement persons to provide small quilts for children who must be taken from their parents and placed in a foster care situation. A small quilt of their own can be very comforting at a time like this.

There may not be a Linus chapter in your area, but I'll bet there is some sort of charity quilting group that you can find if you dig around a bit. Maybe talk to some of the bigger churches. In our area, the Baptist Church has a great charity group. We have two long arm quilters in the group and they let us use their machines for a minimal fee. We donate to children's homes, Crisis Pregnancy centers (for babies and their siblings), Children's hospitals, as well as adult donations for cancer patients, transplant patients, and pretty much any one we hear about who needs to be given a quilt. I love my group!

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Originally Posted by TexasSunshine (Post 7179355)

Thanks for your comments. I would rather do the quilting than all the admin work. I will still look around locally through the quilt quild or elsewhere for charity work.

Texas just do your own thing and quilt your will find an outlet for them, no problem. Check out local outlets like you local doctors surgery, hospitals etc. you don't have to be in an organization to give. I am a Project Linus coordinator in North Wales UK and I don't do as much as other branches do because I like to do my quilting, butevery little bit or quilt helps :)