Help Donate Blankets to Foster Care Children!

Hugs in a Blanket’s mission is to show love, care, and support to those in need by making and donating fleece blankets. Our organization was first created in 2016 by UCLA student, Camille Ng at Taft High School. Last Fall, Camille established Hugs in a Blanket at UCLA and our club has donated over 350 blankets since then!

Our club members make the no-sew blankets during our weekly meetings. Since our blankets only require cutting and tying fleece, anyone can make a blanket. Each blanket can take as little as five minutes when everyone’s participating. Making blankets is an easy and fun way for UCLA students to get involved in helping their community.

Our blankets are comprised of two pieces of fabric. There’s a fun, colorful print on one side and a matching solid color on the other.

For the holidays, Hugs in a Blanket is making 250 blankets that will be donated to the Foster Children’s Resource Center. The Foster Care Resource Center is a 501 © (3) non-profit organization who provides foster children with joy and excitement by allowing them to select new clothes, school supplies, toys and more for free. This December, every child that comes to the center will receive one of our new handmade blankets as an extra holiday gift. Each child will be able to pick their very own blanket at the Resource Center!

Your donation to our campaign will show your love and care to foster children by providing them with new handmade blankets. Foster care children are often moved from place to place without having much to call their own. Our blankets will give these foster care children something that they can have with them forever, regardless of where they are placed. They will also give these children a sense of comfort and security during times of uncertainty.

Since our organization is operated by students, we do not have constant funding for our blanket donations. Because of this, we really need your help and support. In order for this donation to happen, $4000 is needed, with the breakdown below:

With your help, you support the foster care children in our community. Your tax-deductible donation will provide every child who comes to the center in December with a new, warm blanket this holiday season. Together, we can make a difference in these foster children’s lives!

We are so grateful for your support. Even a $1 donation gets us one step closer to our goal!

With the $3,100 we raised in last year’s Spark campaign, we were able to fund our main blanket donation to the William J Pete Knight Veterans Home. In December, our club members went to the veteran’s home to give our blankets to the veterans living there. This was a memorable experience for all us, as we were able to see the impact our donors made on these veterans firsthand. It was so heart warming to see each veteran come up and chose their own blanket, smiling as they picked out their favorite one.

We were also able to fund two more blanket donations with the campaign funds, one to Carlson Home Hospital and the other to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. The blankets in both donations were given to children with medical or psychiatric illnesses. Although we did not give our blankets to these kids ourselves, the staff were overjoyed when they received them and guaranteed us that their children would love them.

Throughout the year, our club continued to make and donate blankets to various groups, with funds acquired from campus fundraisers and recycling. Our donation to Hope Gardens, an organization that provides shelter to homeless women and children, was another unforgettable experience for us. During the summer, we were able to provide all children living at Hope Gardens with one of our blankets. Although it was summertime, the director at Hope Gardens told us the children were still able to enjoy their blankets. One night, Hope Gardens put on a movie night for their guests. Realizing that it was getting cold, all the kids ran to their rooms and came back with the blankets that we gave them. Knowing that these blankets are being used and loved by these kids is all the motivation we need to keep doing what we do.

Last school year, we were able to host collaborations with other service clubs on campus, allowing both of our groups to increase our impact in our communities. We partnered with American Medical Student Association to donate 20 blankets to the Ronald McDonald House and with Bruins Supporting Veterans to donate to veterans in the Operation Mend program. We are excited to have more collaborations with more service groups this coming school year!