Sedgebrook’s Knitting Club Goes Above and Beyond to Help Children in Need

By Melissa Borgerding

When Muriel Sherman of Lake Forest started the knitting club at Sedgebrook, she wanted to do something more rewarding than in her previous knitting groups. She wanted to use her skills and experience to make a difference in the community.

Now, Muriel and the rest of the Sedgebrook knitters are doing just that. They’re donating their time and talent to creating beautiful, handmade blankets and sweaters for children in need.

A Warm Blanket for a Child in Need

An accomplished knitter who owned her own shop and has even converted the guest room of her apartment home into a knitting room, Muriel knew she would start a knitting group when she moved to Sedgebrook. But she wanted this group to be different from the ones she taught previously.

“I had a knitting group I started at the senior center. But the women were just knitting garments for themselves. That’s all they wanted to do,” she says.

So when Muriel and the Sedgebrook knitting club learned about a non-profit organization called Project Linus, they jumped at the chance to help out.

Devoted to providing security, warmth, and comfort to seriously ill and abused children, Project Linus is a 100% volunteer non-profit with chapters across the country. Although members of Sedgebrook’s knitting club have various different skills and experience levels, everyone works with equal enthusiasm to knit the warmest and most beautiful blankets they can for the children. The blankets are then distributed to hospitals and shelters.

The children are extremely grateful and excited to receive these lovingly-handmade gifts, says National President Carol Babbitt in a statement on the Project Linus website. “The comfort brought to a child by a Project Linus security blanket should not be underestimated. Thanks to our blanketeers…, millions of children have been given comfort and security at a time when they need it most.”