In September of last year we began our journey in conjunction with the Florida Daughters of the American Revolution to raise home made blankets for an American charity called the Snowball Express.
The Snowball Express is a foundation that takes children of service members who have been killed in action since 9/11 to Disney World each year with their surviving parent.
This event happens every December and the families are charged absolutely nothing to partake in the event. It is designed to give them a much needed respite from the stressful and often times sad holiday season and also to put them in touch with other children who know exactly how they feel.
One of the many blessings during their five day stay at Disney World is that each child gets a home made blanket. In conjunction with the Florida DAR and Project Linus we helped raise over 1100 blankets for the charity.
It’s been a whole year and then some since we started this journey but the children were at Disney this week and I’ve had some photos shared with me of the blankets and some of the children with the blankets they chose. I’ve been given permission to share the photos here with you.
For those of you (the multitudes) who have been asking if we will participate again, the answer is yes. Details for Snowball Express 2020 will be below the photo slide show! For those of you who participated in this year’s drive I offer my sincere gratitude and hope that you will participate once again in 2020.
Snowball Express 2020 has proven to be a bit more difficult than 2019. In 2019 we had my family, locally in Florida and the Florida Daughters of the American Revolution’s drive for blankets to piggy back on. This year it’s just us and Project Linus. I have been in contact with the Project Linus Chapter that is closest to me which is in Lubbock Texas and while I do not have specifics like deadline dates as of yet I can tell you what the requirements are and that the deadline will most likely be the end of July or August.
Project Linus volunteers have to process each blanket and each one gets a tag sewn onto it. It is a rather large project for chapters to take on so I would like to give them as much time as possible to process our blankets and then get them shipped to Orlando for the children.
If you would like to get a head start on your blankets please read the following information. It is important that the requirements are followed. As always, if you have any questions you can contact me via the contact form here.
2020 Snowball Express Blanket Requirements:
What: Blankets that are crochet, knit, fleece or quilts. If the blankets are made of fleece they can only be ONE layer.
What Size: Blankets must be 45×60 inches or larger. The children must be 5 years old to attend the event. (This is new information that we did not have last year!)
Special Note: The blankets must be completely free of odors. This includes cigarette smoke, pet smells/fur and laundry detergent or fabric softener.
Do’s:
Service specific blankets. (IE: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard)
Super Hero, Disney & Camouflage (traditional green & tan as well as pink and grey!) are highly enjoyed by the children.
National Sports teams are also coveted blankets or sports themed blankets.
Entirely crocheted blankets are a huge hit with the children. They do not need to be extremely detailed.
Use hypoallergenic fibers such as acrylic or cotton.
Don’ts:
Do NOT send blankets that resemble American Flags. These flags are draped over caskets and will most certainly remind them of one of the most terrible days of their lives.
No baby themes. Again, the youngest child is 5 years old.
No college teams.
No Christmas or holiday specific themes please.
Do not send blankets made from animal fibers. A lot of people have allergies and we do not want one of these babies being allergic to the blanket they choose.
In the new year I will give more details such as deadlines and shipping addresses. As I said, I am still coordinating with the Project Linus Chapter in Lubbock on this. I know a lot of you have been wanting to get started so my hope is that this information will help you with that.
Thanks again for your participation! Let us work together to ensure than ALL of these children go home with a home made hug in 2020!
-Stephanie