We launched our Annual Blanket Drive at the beginning of July with a big goal in mind: to collect 2,022 blankets in honor of 2022. This is a big goal for us, especially since we’ve never reached our Blanket Drive goal despite reaching every other collection drive goal each year. But we support so many veteran patients across the U.S., the need for blankets is huge.

Why Blankets? And why in the Summer?

We often get questions about why we collect blankets in the middle of summer. We actually collect blankets all year long because it’s always cold in the hospital. Our Annual Blanket Drive is in the summer for a couple of reasons. First, we have to space out our collection drives and since we have so many holidays throughout the year, the summer is really the only time where it doesn’t overlap with other programs. Second, collecting them in the summer helps us stock ahead of the winter months, when we send blankets to deployed units. Bottom line: blankets are always needed and yet always in short supply.

The Blanket Drive supports both veteran patients, deployed service members, and wounded service members at the Landstuhl Hospital in Germany. For Veteran patients, these blankets are an item of comfort and warmth in a place that is always cold (for good reason) and not exactly where you want to be staying. We supply our VA Hospital Reps with blankets throughout the year to hand out to veterans they visit in the hospital. Imagine if you were hospitalized or undergoing treatment and you were gifted a warm blanket made by someone who just wanted to express appreciation for your service and sacrifice. The reaction we get from veteran patients when we hand these blankets out is priceless.

“I was at the VA hospital for treatment when I was given a handmade lap blanket. It is not just the warmth from the blanket that meant so much but the fact that someone cared enough to make this gift of warmth for me. Thank You for this gift.”

– Mike, Veteran patient

“You folks are great… I was doing chemo at Audie Murphy and you all came in with blankets. Mine is a red, white and blue themed. LOVE IT. Thank you for what you do for us Vets…”

– Luis

For deployed service members, blankets also offer comfort and warmth – even when deployed to the desert! We often hear from service members who share that their gifted blanket is one of the most treasured items they’ve ever received. It really means that much. We all have blankets we love to snuggle up with. Our service members are no different.

“Thank you for this. I got one of these in a hospital in Afghanistan years ago and it means the world to me! It was my security blanket literally as I went through rehab after a brain injury. I still have it years later. You’ll never know how appreciative I am and how appreciated it made me feel!”

“Thank you, Soldiers’ Angels. On my 3rd tour in Afghanistan I was given a box from you during the Xmas of 2010. It was the only thing I received since I did not have any family support. In the box was chocolate, letters, and a blanket, which I always cherish.”  

– Jesus

Types of blankets to send

If quilting and sewing is your thing, we encourage you to make some handmade items for our troops. If not, no worries! A store bought blanket is just as well received. Check out our Amazon Wishlist here for options. As long as the blanket is new, we’d be happy to take it. Want to try your hand at crafting? Make a No Sew Blanket or two! Here’s a video tutorial.

We hope you’ll join in on this year’s Blanket Drive and help us reach our goal. Learn more about the drive and how to participate here.

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