Lions Make Blankets for Kids in Need

Lions District OH7 Governor Lilane Fox is shown with some of the blankets to be donated to children in need. *Photo from the Pickerington Lions Club*

January 18, 2024
By Toby Scofield

Blankets are much more than a way to stay warm; they also provide a sense of comfort and security. For kids in the foster care system, comfort and security are desperately needed.

My Very Own Blanket is a nonprofit organization that collects handmade blankets and quilts to give to children in local foster care systems.

“The idea is that kids in foster care don’t necessarily have a lot of things that are their very own,” explained Pickerington Lions Club officer Brian Fox. “This blanket gives them something that is THEIRS and something that they know was created with love just for them.”

Each blanket has a patch onto which the child’s name is written along with the name of the crafter and a message of love.

My Very Own Blanket allows the blankets to also be donated to other organizations that help children including pediatric cancer programs and hospitals.

Club member Lilane Fox (Brian’s wife) serves as governor for Lions District OH7 and chose to work with My Very Own Blanket as a service project for all her district’s clubs.

Lions District OH7 includes 17 Ohio counties stretching from Coshocton in the north to Gallia along the Ohio River. The area includes 48 different Lions Clubs.

Members of the Pickerington Lions Club, BSA Troop 256 and BSA Troop 7256 display some of the blankets they made as part of the My Very Own Blanket project. *Photo from the Pickerington Lions*

“Lilane’s initial goal for the district was to have 400 blankets done,” Brian said. “Her stretch goal is 800 blankets. At this point, Lions have created and distributed 639 blankets. Of that number, the Pickerington Lions Club did 200 blankets.”

Additionally, Lilane applied for a “District Community Grant” from Lions Clubs International Foundation, which (if awarded) would enable Lions attending the District OH7 Convention at the end of February to create an additional 265 blankets. The attendees would take the blankets home to distribute in their communities.

For the duration of the January 9 Pickerington Lions meeting at Combustion Brewery & Taproom, members cut and fashioned blankets. Scouts from BSA Troops 256 and 7256 (which the Pickerington Lions charter) also participated in the effort.