My name is Rukiya Droste and I am the mother of two Bodkin students as well as a student at Chespeake Middle School. Recently my three very bright daughters came to me with many questions about the recent events involving immigrants and what it means to be an immigrant in America today. It was a much more difficult conversation than I ever thought it could be, and I felt we all were left with a feeling of sadness at the end of it. Being of mixed race and 3rd and 4th generation Puerto Rican-American heritage, I have always promoted acceptance and self love in my daughters. Also as a military family on our fifth (and thankfully final) move, we know all too well some of the feelings immigrant children in resettlement might be feeling. The decision was made that we had to do something to help. Our family frequently makes fleece cut-and-tie blankets that we have given as gifts. "We could make blankets for the little kids!" my 4th grader Sumiya suggested.
We started Blankets of Hope because we feel that one small gesture of kindness could mean all the difference in the world to a child coming to our country who may feel very scared, uncertain, and unaccepted. As a Bodkin parent I know how hard we all strive as a community to teach our children to love one another and to do our part to give back!
We have begun hand-making child-size fleece blankets that use 2 yards of fabric, fabric scissors, a piece of yarn, and not much time to make. We are also having the kids draw a picture that we can attach to the blankets, which we have folded and bound with the yarn. So far, the kids and I have enough fabric to make about 15 blankets but many more blankets are needed! We have managed to keep the cost to less than $7/each to produce. I have been in contact with representatives from the IRC and Rescue.org and their Silver Spring office is very excited about our project! So far, there is an immediate need for about 30 blankets at that one location. They have, however, already asked if the blankets could be mailed to other locations in the United States, which means we need to start making A LOT of blankets!!
OUR GOAL:
Our goal is to create a long-term project that will ensure that immigrant children going into resettlement in our area and beyond will receive a blanket! A Blanket of Hope is handmade by kids and parents that represents our acceptance and support for them as they begin a new life. This is a small gesture to make a child feel loved during a really hard transition that most of us could never imagine having to go through. This is how we can plant the seed of giving in our Bodkin kids and show our love as a community of families who just want to do something and give back!
WHAT WE NEED:
We need fleece material, lots of volunteers to make the blankets and donations of material or funds to purchase materials! I will be meeting with local fabric shops to see if they may be willing to give us a discount on the material. Ms. Amstutz, Mrs. Major, and I are working together closely to come up with a date to have a blanket-making party (possibly at our school) and to come up with other ideas to make the biggest impact possible! Some things we are working on include a fundraising event, parent involvement, and school wide involvement. If you are interested in helping in any way and/or if you are interested in more information, please contact me directly (Rukiya Droste, [email protected], 253-495-9490).
Here are photos of the material we've used and a blanket we've already made as well as a photo of my girls hard at work on a logo for the Blankets of Hope project!
We started Blankets of Hope because we feel that one small gesture of kindness could mean all the difference in the world to a child coming to our country who may feel very scared, uncertain, and unaccepted. As a Bodkin parent I know how hard we all strive as a community to teach our children to love one another and to do our part to give back!
We have begun hand-making child-size fleece blankets that use 2 yards of fabric, fabric scissors, a piece of yarn, and not much time to make. We are also having the kids draw a picture that we can attach to the blankets, which we have folded and bound with the yarn. So far, the kids and I have enough fabric to make about 15 blankets but many more blankets are needed! We have managed to keep the cost to less than $7/each to produce. I have been in contact with representatives from the IRC and Rescue.org and their Silver Spring office is very excited about our project! So far, there is an immediate need for about 30 blankets at that one location. They have, however, already asked if the blankets could be mailed to other locations in the United States, which means we need to start making A LOT of blankets!!
OUR GOAL:
Our goal is to create a long-term project that will ensure that immigrant children going into resettlement in our area and beyond will receive a blanket! A Blanket of Hope is handmade by kids and parents that represents our acceptance and support for them as they begin a new life. This is a small gesture to make a child feel loved during a really hard transition that most of us could never imagine having to go through. This is how we can plant the seed of giving in our Bodkin kids and show our love as a community of families who just want to do something and give back!
WHAT WE NEED:
We need fleece material, lots of volunteers to make the blankets and donations of material or funds to purchase materials! I will be meeting with local fabric shops to see if they may be willing to give us a discount on the material. Ms. Amstutz, Mrs. Major, and I are working together closely to come up with a date to have a blanket-making party (possibly at our school) and to come up with other ideas to make the biggest impact possible! Some things we are working on include a fundraising event, parent involvement, and school wide involvement. If you are interested in helping in any way and/or if you are interested in more information, please contact me directly (Rukiya Droste, [email protected], 253-495-9490).
Here are photos of the material we've used and a blanket we've already made as well as a photo of my girls hard at work on a logo for the Blankets of Hope project!