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Images via Brad Zweerink/Daily Republic

As Peanuts gang member Linus Van Pelt once said, “This blanket is a necessity. It keeps me from cracking up…. Without it, I’d be nothing, a ship without a rudder.” Linus, and Project Linus founder Karen Loucks, knew something that most of the Peanuts gang didn’t: that a blanket can be a support system in a time of need. For the children in Project Linus, these blankets represent exactly that.

Project Linus is a non-profit organization that provides homemade blankets to children in need. Loucks was inspired after reading an article in Parade Magazine entitled “Joy to the World” by Pulitzer prize winning photo-journalist Eddie Adams. The article told the harrowing story of a little girl named Laura who was in the midst of tough battle with leukemia. Adams wrote that, “A special ‘blankie’ helped Laura, 3, get through more than two years of intensive chemotherapy. She [took] it to the hospital with her when she [went in] for treatment.”

Laura’s security blanket gave Loucks the incredibly adorable idea to create and donate homemade blankets to Denver’s, Rocky Mountain Children’s Cancer Center. Since then, Project Linus has grown throughout the United States with chapters in all 50 states delivering over 5 million blankets to children who are in need of a “big hug”.

National President, Carol Babbitt expressed, “The comfort brought to a child by a Project Linus security blanket should not be underestimated. Thanks to our many blanketeers and our chapter coordinators, millions of children and their families have been given an opportunity to use their talents and abilities in a most rewarding way.”

Along with providing big hugs, the mission of Project Linus is to create a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children and their families during such a turbulent time in their lives. Children in Project Linus know they’ll always have a friend by their side. With this common goal in mind, communities across the country come together as “blanketeers” and bring smiles to scores of children in need.

You can support Project Linus and the children of your community by donating, becoming a blanketeer or creating your own local chapter!

As long as you always remember, “Happiness is a warm blanket, Charlie Brown”.

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From the Editor

At Conscious, we are inspired by stories that cause us to think differently and think big-picture and so we set out to tell stories with the help of leaders and influencers in the social good community. You can read more stories like this when you Sign-up for the Weekly and Subscribe to Conscious Magazine.