Binky Patrol’s Southern Connecticut wants to thank everyone who came out on Saturday, 4/11 for a Bink-A-Thon held in honor of Jay Piccirillo. Jay was a good friend of many different volunteers as well as an overall force in the city of Bridgeport, CT. One of the many charities Jay supported was the Center for Family Justice, and Binky Patrol dedicated this event in his honor as we made blankets for CFJ’s Camp Hope. We were able to make and collect over 75 blankets, or “binkies,” and sent additional fabric home so teenagers in the area could continue using their spring break to earn community service hours.

Representatives from the Center for Family Justice joined us not only to make blankets, but to explain to the volunteers how much these Binkies mean to the kids and youth who receive them each year. Camp Hope serves children and adolescents who have been adversely affected by the trauma of sexual or domestic violence. For these children, this camp is often their first time away from family members and loved ones. The children and teens are provided with blankets we make at these events that often become security blankets, providing warmth and comfort to these campers in their time of growth and healing.

Camp Hope is just one of the camps that Binky Patrol Southern Connecticut is making blankets for in the spring. A total of 500 blankets will be donated to Camp Hope, Experience Camps, Royal Family (forthechildren.org), Camp Kesem UCONN & Yale, and CT Burn Care Foundation.

This day could not have been possible without the generous help and support of our sponsors: 

The Monroe Rotary Club

The Trumbull Rotary Club

M&T Bank

Aquarion Water Company 

Gladstone/Piccirillo Foundation

“We are deeply thankful to you and your team for honoring Jay Piccirillo’s life and legacy through this meaningful event. The care and comfort these handmade blankets will bring to the children and teens attending the Center for Family Justice’s Camp Hope is a beautiful reflection of Jay’s generous spirit and the strength of this community.” – M&T Bank

Contact Area Coordinator Jeanne Malgioglio with any questions or interest in volunteering: ctbinky@binkypatrol.org or find a chapter near you at https://binkypatrol.org/find-a-chapter-near-you/