Humble Beginnings
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On Christmas Eve, 1995, an article titled “Joy to the World” appeared in Parade Magazine. It was written by Pulitzer Prize winning photo-journalist, Eddie Adams. Part of the article featured a petite, downy haired child named Laura:
“Laura has unusual compassion for others,” Charlotte Barry-Williams of Oceanside, California, says of her daughter, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1993. “I guess part of the reason is that she has experienced so much pain herself.”
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A special “blankie” has helped Laura, 3, get through more than two years of intensive chemotherapy. She takes it to the hospital with her when she goes for treatment. When she was first diagnosed, 97 percent of her bone marrow contained cancerous cells. Although chemotherapy has helped eradicate the cancer, she has had to endure nausea, high fevers and the loss of her hair. An allergic reaction at one point caused her to lose vital signs.
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“She doesn’t understand what cancer means,” her mother says. “She’s a very joyous and happy person, very curious.” Her mother hopes Laura can start preschool next spring.
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After reading the article, Karen Loucks decided to provide homemade security blankets to Denver’s Rocky Mountain Children’s Cancer Center, and Project Linus was born.
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The Catawba Valley Chapter started in 2001. Julie Propst is the Chapter Coordinator and has served Project Linus as a volunteer since 2005 and as the Chapter Coordinator since 2009.
Interesting Facts
*As of January 1, 2020, Project Linus has about 288 chapters in the United States. Each chapter has their own coordinator.
*Project Linus nationally has officially collected over 7,926,861 blankets as of January 1, 2020.
*Project Linus National has had nonprofit status since May 12, 1997!
*All Project Linus blankets delivered by our chapter is wrapped with yarn with a laminated poem attached to it. Every blanket has a Project Linus label sewed on it.
*Blankets are delivered monthly to the agencies we serve by volunteers of our chapter.
