LEWISTON — A team from Marden’s brought hundreds of donated homemade blankets and quilts to patients at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. Marden’s holds a blanket drive each year for Project Linus.

The project is a nonprofit group whose mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, created by volunteer “blanketeers.”

In the past four years, blanketeers have donated more than 8,000 blankets to Project Linus through Marden’s for distribution in Maine. Marden’s fabric manager Cheryl Dancsak says she’s always overwhelmed by the wonderful craftsmanship and generosity of donors.

“Some blankets are made by children as young as 5 years old,” said Dancsak, “and some crafters include personal notes of encouragement and inspirational messages in their handiwork.”

Marden’s brings the blankets to St. Mary’s to distribute to sick or traumatized children. St. Mary’s staff say the blankets are of tremendous comfort to the children in crisis. “When you give a child a blanket,”
said nurse Anita Rousseau, “a sense of calm instantly washes over them.”

Marden’s also passed along about 70 donated, handmade pillow cases from ConKerr Cancer volunteers for St. Mary’s to distribute to hospitalized children.

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