Handmade with love
September 3, 2026By: Kim Shopper
Categories: We are NKC Health, In the Community
A recent blanket delivery showcases blankets
in a variety of colors and themes.
A small, handmade blanket offers families a special keepsake of their newborn’s arrival at NKC Health. Thanks to generous Project Linus volunteers, our tiniest patients receive this memento along with a safe sleep book when they leave the Mother-Baby Unit or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Project Linus is a national nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to provide blankets for children who are seriously ill, experiencing trauma or facing other difficult circumstances.
The blanket delivery from Project Linus began here about six years ago. As our maternity services have grown, so has the need for blankets. From an initial delivery of 150 blankets per month, Project Linus volunteers now try to deliver about 200 blankets each month depending on their supply.
Project Linus relies on volunteers — often called “blanketeers” — to make and donate the blankets.
The project name comes from Linus, the PEANUTS® character, who famously carries a security blanket.
For the past four years, Mother-Baby Unit Administrative Secretary Teresa Harris has helped make sure these special blankets reach families. Project Linus Volunteer Susan Gass, BSN, RN, a nurse on Acute Rehab (4th Floor), picks up the blankets in Lee’s Summit and delivers them to Teresa for distribution.
The blankets are typically 24 inches by 24 inches and are intended for tummy time — not for use in a baby's crib. In the NICU, staff drape the blankets over the isolette or chair to create more of a relaxed nursery atmosphere.
“Blankets delivered to NKC Health are made from cotton or a non-fuzzy fleece, rather than pile or fuzzy material, which could get in a baby’s mouth,” explained Teresa.
For nurses, like Mother-Baby Supervisor Cindy Sherman, MSN, RN, RNC-OB, choosing just the right blanket for a patient can become a meaningful part of their interaction.
Project Linus is named after the fictional character
Linus who carried a blanket everywhere.
“We get to know our patients and sometimes search through the collection to find a blanket that seems just right — whether it features a favorite color, a boy or girl theme, a gender-neutral design or a fun saying like ‘Wild Child,’” Cindy said.
“Sometimes nurses want the same one,” Teresa laughed, highlighting how much the handmade designs appeal to patients and staff alike.
For the volunteers who make each blanket, it’s a simple way to offer comfort and kindness for a child and family they may never meet. And for the nurses who share them with parents, the blankets are another way to show that care at NKC Health extends beyond medical treatment.
Project Linus depends on volunteers to make the blankets and donate the materials. For more information or to get involved, call (816) 764-2551.
