Support MVOB by easily forwarding this newsletter to a friend or two. Thanks!
• Children are losing their support system at school.
• Visits with birth families and court dates are being disrupted.
• Children are losing routines and access to in-person services.
• Odds are worsening for youth aging out of foster care.
• Underlying irony: fewer reports but potentially more abuse.
How is COVID-19 affecting
kids in foster care?

If you’re trying to work with a foster care and adoption agency these days, you know that the current health crisis has changed the child welfare landscape . . . As with many crises, this one is hitting vulnerable people—including children in foster care—the worst.
2020 Goal: 25,000 blankets for children in foster care.

We have a new October goal!!

WILL YOU OFFER UP YOUR LUNCH?

Two blanket kits cost about the same as as a fast food lunch for 2 people. We are asking 500 people to sponsor 2 blanket kits online so that 1,000 more children can be comforted and loved with a blanket. You can help us reach 11,000 blankets by November!

Current blanket number: 9,845

Here's how you can offer up a lunch and help reach the new October goal!

  • Order blanket kits online here. Use our "curbside" pick up and drop off bin just outside our Blanket Workshop to safely receive and donate your blankets!

  • Drop off your quilted, crocheted and knitted blankets in the donation bin outside our workshop. We gather them up daily. THANKS to the folks from Stonebridge Condos in Powell for the 17 blankets shown above!

  • Not in Central Ohio? Sponsor our "no-sew" blanket kits online to have them sent to you. We will help you get in contact with your local children's services to deliver to kids in care in your area!
Water leak damages workshop. Volunteers continue work!
Above: Masked volunteers cut fleece on tables set up outside our workshop.
Below: While repairs go on behind the plastic sheet in back, blankets and equipment are covered and moved to front of the workshop.
In addition to the COVID-19 crisis, we had another challenge for the past 9 weeks. A water leak in our building caused damage to our floor and walls and soaked many bolts of fleece.
 
We quickly cut up the material into blankets, and our awesome Blanket Angel volunteers washed and dried the fleece and saved it all! We then removed as many blankets as we could from the workshop and covered furniture and equipment with plastic to prepare for repairs.
 
The contractors got to work removing and replacing damaged drywall and flooring. During much of this time the workshop was closed as only Jessica worked in there to keep our “brown bin” curbside drop-off and pick-up running along.
 
Our dedicated Blanket Angel volunteers took work home with them and after many weeks were finally able to come back and work outside on tables in front of the workshop. You can see some of them in the photo above wearing their masks while they work.
Do you advocate for children in foster care?
If you are a caseworker or advocate for children in foster care, we would love to provide blankets that you can share with kids who could use something to hold onto. Just tell us how many you need. 614-530-3327 or info@myveryownblanket.org
A Bountiful Sisters' Donation

We were very blessed to discover many bags of blankets waiting to be opened in the workshop one recent morning! This email explained:

Hi Jessica...I dropped off 119 blankets today…We have turned in 339 this year so far and hope to make another 200 this year. Our goal was 100, but now it is 500…

We want to give the kids blankets as long as possible. Thank you for your organization. No organization has broken my heart as yours has. This is why we spend our free time to help. Laurie and Linda 
Many thanks to sisters Laurie and Linda for their continuing support of children in foster care. This stack is only part of the 339 blankets they donated this year--and more to come!
Blanket Angel Coordinator makes good use of quarantine time

Jillian, our Blanket Angel Coordinator (BAC) in INDIANA, sent us a photo and report of what she has been doing while quarantined since February. She finished up 43 quilts, shown at left, that will go to kids in foster care in Southeast Indiana. She also made more than 2,000 masks to be given to CASA children in foster care in her area! We're grateful for Jillian and all the BAC's working across the U.S.

CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, are volunteers who advocate for children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Many of these children are in foster care.
A small personal touch makes a big difference!
When our blanket angels write their names on our special tags, we encourage them to include aN inspirational message to the child who will receive their blanket. We believe that this personal touch could make a big difference to a child coping with nights in a new, unfamiliar place. Here are a few notes that we thought you would enjoy seeing. Learn more about our special tags
Blanket Angel Snapshots
Five children in foster care will be comforted by these beautiful, colorful quilts created by Mary Lou.
The Westerville Girls Cross Country Team made blankets for kids in foster care. They practiced social distancing and still had fun!
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Get "your very own" copy! JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Easy ways to give while you shop
Amazon Smile. Purchase with purpose. Amazon donates to MVOB when you shop at smile.amazon.com.
Kroger Community Rewards
Shop with your Plus Card to earn donations for MVOB. Enroll here. Our account: CG546.
National Headquarters Blanket Workshop Hours
Monday to Friday: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
 
Drop your donation of finished blankets off at any time in the brown donation bin in front of our Blanket Workshop at 407 W. Main Street, Westerville, Ohio 43081
 
Questions? Need information?

Many thanks to our shipping partners at United Health Care Community Plan