Advertisement Siblings Colton and Linse Wilbur started Comfort Blankets “Ties That Bind” after learning how to make tie fleece blankets with their mother, Mary Jo Wilbur, last winter.
 |
The trio has since hand-tied 33 of the soft, cuddly creations for children who have lost siblings, parents, pets or their home suddenly in tragic accidents and fires.
“It’s nice to help people out,” said Colton, 10, who will be in fifth grade at Westby (Wis.) Middle School when classes resume this fall.
“I like the tying,” added Linse, 9, who will be in fourth grade at Coon Valley (Wis.) Elementary School.
Colton suggested making the blankets for homeless people when crafting his first with his mother.
The book “Good Night, My Son” by Esther F. Smucker later inspired them to focus their efforts on children.
“We knew we had to deal with children,” Mary Jo said. “Siblings get forgotten about a lot.”
The siblings of 5-year-old Matthew McKay, who was killed in January while sledding near his rural Arcadia, Wis., home, received their first efforts.
They’ve also made blankets for a Minnesota girl who lost her dog in a fire and 23 La Crescent, Minn., children who were displaced in April by an apartment complex fire.
A silent prayer is always said for the child when the last tie is done.
To help fund their project, Colton and Linse distributed fliers to their teachers and people they knew.
They were excited when their first piece of brightly colored, donated fleece came in from their music teacher.
Unfortunately, they said, the donations haven’t been coming in as quickly as they’d like and the family has had to self-fund most of the blankets.
Donors receive a piece of the blanket they helped to fund with the child’s name on it, called a prayer mini, and a story about the project.
Autumn Grooms can be reached at (608) 791-8424 or agrooms@lacrossetribune.com.
