Volunteers Blanket Children’s Homes and Hospitals With Love

With needle, thread and lots of love, hundreds of volunteers across the country Saturday stitched together blankets for children suffering from abuse or terminal illnesses.

The Bink-A-Thon, organized by Orange County residents and expected to be an annual event, was a one-day sewing blitz in states including New York, Colorado and Texas. The blankets, and the money raised in pledges, were all donated to local children’s homes and hospitals.

In Orange County, participants packed a Mission Viejo community center where about 1,500 pounds of fabric were decorated with paints and yarn then patched together by children, women and men.

Speedy volunteers cranked out blankets in 15 minutes. On them, youngsters from local elementary schools hand-painted hearts, animals and warm messages such as “Hope” and “Someone is Thinking of You.” Adults busily sewed together the panels, aiming to reach their goal of 400 blankets by the end of the day.

“I like doing this for the kids,” said Jerry Duffner, seated behind a sewing machine. Sewing isn’t his forte, he said, but his skills have improved after his fiancee got him involved in the effort.

After six hours of nonstop work, the blankets were delivered to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, the Ronald McDonald House, the county foster-care program and a number of other children’s homes.

“As a foster parent, I know how crucial it is to give children something that will be theirs,” said volunteer Heather Redington, of Aliso Viejo. Foster children “have been taken away from their parents and have nothing. By doing this, we’re providing them with something that’s comforting, something that belongs to them.”

The event was spearheaded by Laguna Beach resident Susan Jenkins, founder of Binky Patrol, an organization that makes and donates blankets to needy children. Jenkins started the group in May 1996 with only five women, but the effort has flourished to about 2,000 members nationwide.

Working out of their homes, Binky members sew blankets on their own time, meet monthly and deliver their wares to children each week. At hospitals, the blankets can be found draped over incubators to shield the light from premature newborns. “My mom taught me to be of service,” said Jenkins, who also works at a public relations firm in Tustin. “Nothing is more satisfying than the gift of giving.”