Earlier this month I hosted my first blanket making party through an organization called "All Girls Allowed." This organization works to show love and support to families who choose to keep their baby girls. Due to China's One Child Policy and the cultural desire to have baby boys gendercide is a serious problem in China. Baby girls are far to often aborted or abandoned by their families because they are seen as undesirable. All Girls Allowed wants to tell parents that every child is valued by God and to come along side of these families to help them through the journey of parenting. (Their website is www.allgirlsallwed.org)
So the blanket making ministry was started to give mothers something of a baby shower present in order to celebrate the life of their baby girl. When I hosted it at my house 13 people attended and 6 others donated either blankets or money to help with sending the blankets and many more people showed an interest in participating next time! After I collected all of the blankets I took them to the laundry mat to wash all of them and carrying in 5 laundry baskets of blankets made for a great conversation starter to tell people about what we are doing! (One lady said, "You either have a lot of kids or you have a daycare with all those blankets!") :)
24 baby blankets were sent to China!!!!
With each blanket sent I tied a picture of the person who made it with the blanket and a hand-written note from the person who made it. I LOVED reading the notes from people as I tied them to the blankets! I can only imagine how loved the mothers will feel when they read these after being translated!
After subtracting cost for washing the blankets and mailing them I am still able to send a check for $133!!! That goes to show how generous so many women were in donating to financially support this project. A private company covers all of AGA's office costs so all $133 will go to the families that AGA serves and loves!
Thank you to everyone involved....I can't wait to host the next one....but I think we'll need a bigger space for everyone interested in making blankets!
Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of the party:
