DAPHNE, Ala.—Since children in hospitals need blankets, it’s no surprise that Daphne High School’s Girls Service Club decided to participate in Project Linus—a national effort to provide ‘security’ blankets for pediatric patients, free of charge.

To some students, however, spending more than an  hour of afterschool time to process fleece materials into 30 warm wraps is another story. But some of the service club’s members one Wednesday did just that.

The girls—with instruction from adults—chose and purchased the fabrics, and prepared them for children’s use. Creating a fleece blanket basically involves cutting several slits into the edges of two fabric pieces and tying the opposing fabrics together.

“It only took about an hour and a half to make the blankets,” Jenna Menefee, a club member, said, adding that the blankets the girls put together, will benefit USA Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Mobile.

Thanks to the girls’ various patterns, hospital volunteers will have plenty of choices  when handing out the blankets, according to Ginny Paisant, a school sponsor of the club.

“They could choose  solid colors or they could choose printed,” she said of the girls’ shopping spree. “One person chose an Auburn (University) theme; one person had the cutest cow (print);  one person’s (blanket) had Winnie the Pooh.

“But a lot of them were solid color, so that those could be used for all ages.”

The girls had fun with the project and plan to tackle similar tasks again this school year, Paisant said.

“We’re gonna do this project (at least) three more times throughout this school year,” she said. The club will process pillows for Christmas, when they’ll also participate in an angel tree effort, which helps provide gifts for needy families; plans to sponsor another blanket day in the spring; and will provide pillows again around Valentine’s Day, she said.

Another blanket day will benefit a nursing home, Paisant said.

The girls enjoy such efforts because they can see the positive  fruits of their efforts, organizers said.

“The girls are excited about it because it’s something tangible they can share,” Paisant said.

The club—which recently handed out pink bracelets and teddy bears and displayed pink balloons and signs, in honor of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month—never seems short on community service projects.

“We’re doing some good things,” Paisant said.

About Project Linus:

Project Linus, a national, non-profit organization, has a two-fold mission, according to its Web site, projectlinus.org:

<“First, it is our mission 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, lovingly created by volunteer ‘blanketeers.’

<“Second, it is our mission to provide a rewarding and fun service opportunity for interested individuals and groups in local communities, for the benefit of children.”