We were contacted by journalist, Jen Reader, about submitting an article to Woman’s World Magazine. She was so kind to advocate for this story. She wrote a thoughtful piece, included photos of our choosing and hit the story about Binky Patrol 100%! We are grateful to her and Woman’s World Magazine. Here is an excerpt from that article in the 1/8/24 issue. There is a link to the full article at the end.
Susan Finch longed to do something to give back, but couldn’t find a volunteer opportunity that didn’t require a certain number of hours or specific times. Then, one day, her mom asked if she’d help make blankets for unwed mothers, and the project inspired Susan to start her own nonprofit, which has made and donated more than 1 million handmade blankets to kids in need. Susan Finch hung up the phone, frustrated. She’d loved hosting a fundraiser for a domestic violence shelter at her Southern California art gallery and wanted to do more. However, every nonprofit she called had minimum hours and specific times she would need to volunteer. As a small business owner, that wouldn’t work for her schedule.
There has to be something I can do, Susan thought, and as if on cue, her mom, Josephine Roush, walked into Susan’s gallery holding bits of fabric and asked, “Can you help me make blankets for unwed mothers?” Neither woman knew much about sewing—they measured fabric by cutting around cereal boxes—but they had fun and felt good knowing they were making a difference. And an idea sparked. Kids need to know that they matter! Susan thought. And she knew she’d found the perfect project. A soft blanket is a great way to provide comfort and love.
Heartfelt project
A street fair happened to be taking place outside her gallery that sunny day in 1996, so Susan hung a signup sheet in her window asking for volunteers to help make handmade blankets, or “binkies,” as she dubbed them, for babies, children, and teens in need. That night, five women joined what became Binky Patrol Comforting Covers for Kids (BinkyPatrol.org). The women would gather at Susan’s house or at her mom’s home in a senior community and sew blankets made with donated fabric, which they gave to orphanages, sick children in hospitals, babies of teen moms, and kids living in domestic violence or homeless shelters.
