Their blankets help kids in need feel warm and loved!

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.

- Jen Reeder

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. But 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.