Washington County Girl Scouts bring warmth to Iowa City families with handmade tie blankets

KALONA — In only 30 minutes on a cold January night, a circle of Girl Scouts from Kalona and Wellman turned two soft sheets of fleece into something a little like a hug.

The girls in Girl Scout Troop #3979 cut fringe along the edges, then knotted each strip into place to create the first, of hopefully many, no-sew tie blanket meant for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa City, where many parents and caregivers spend long days and longer nights near a child’s medical treatment.

  Buy Photo

“I hope they just know that they’re not alone in all that they are facing,” troop leader Amy Allen said. “And that even youth in our communities are, you know, thinking of them in their times of need, and hopefully those blankets can bring them just that bit of comfort that they could use at that time.”

While the troop is always looking for service projects, Allen says this most recent service project stemmed from a post made by the Ronald McDonald House on Facebook asking for adult-sized blankets. Without hesitation, the girls, which range from kindergarten to seventh grade, got to work.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, which operates the Iowa City house at 730 Hawkins Drive, supports families who travel for a child’s medical care, offering a place to stay near the hospital and a sense of home during a stressful time.

In its call for donations, the organization asked crafters and volunteers for new adult-sized blankets — handmade or store-bought — made of new materials and from a smoke-free home, with drop-offs accepted at the Iowa City location.

January meetings often fill with planning for the signature fundraiser that powers much of a troop’s budget, cookie sale season. According to Allen, the troop uses the proceeds from sales to support service projects and plenty of fun, too. Even in the midst of planning for the busy season, this blanket project offered a much-needed break that helped the girls focus outward.

“We prepare for our cookie sales, but then we can also give back to the community with money we’ve raised from our fall product sales as well as cookie sales from last year,” Allen said. “Oh, and the girls, I mean, they love doing stuff like this.”

Allen said her troop had enough fabric to make three blankets to start. They finished the first one at their first meeting back from winter break, using a new approach that helped even the youngest Girl Scouts take part.

“They completed one last night, and that was kind of the trial run,” Allen said. “They’ve made something similar to this before, but we had the older girls doing the cutting, and then the younger girls came in to help tie.”

The older girls used rotary cutters, a fun, new tool for many of them and once they got it in the rhythm, they just flew. Allen was impressed with how fast the troop worked.

“I couldn’t believe they finished one as quickly as they did last night,” she said.

Allen said the troop will likely speed up as the girls gain confidence.

“Now they know how to make it,” she said. “They made it within 30 minutes. So I feel like each time will probably get a little bit quicker.”

The girls’ willingness to jump in didn’t require much convincing, Allen said. When they learned of the project idea and understood who stays at Ronald McDonald House, the scouts were eager to help.

“Actually, they were just ready to get to work,” Allen said. “I mean, they were excited to start making them.”

That eagerness reflects a pattern for Troop #3979, which has built a calendar around service as much as badges and activities. In October, during a meeting tied to Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low’s Halloween birthday, the troop assembled “birthday boxes” for a food pantry with many festive items families take for granted.

“In those boxes, we put a disposable pan … a cake mix, a can of soda … candles, balloons, frosting, sprinkles, everything they need to have a little birthday celebration in their home,” Allen said.

For Girl Scouts, community service has long served as a core tradition alongside outdoor skills, leadership development and entrepreneurship. Girl Scouts of the USA describes community service projects as efforts that “address an immediate need” and often have a “short-term impact,” such as making blankets or joining a park cleanup.

Allen sees that bigger purpose in the smaller projects her troop chooses, especially for a group spanning so many ages.

“Girl Scouts, they have a heartbeat for teaching our girls to be entrepreneurs,” she said. “But then there’s also that service aspect as well. We want to teach our girls how they can, you know, contribute to the world … but also, you know, give back and serve as part of life as well.”

For now, Troop #3979 plans to collect blanket donations through January, accepting either fleece fabric or monetary contributions to buy supplies. Each blanket requires two pieces of fleece fabric of at least two yards per side.

People who want to donate can email Allen at amyallen88@gmail.com.

February will test that momentum as cookie season ramps up. Allen said booth sales begin the first full weekend of February in the area, and she encouraged people to support the troop — not just for the familiar boxes of cookies, but because those sales fuel projects like this one.

In the weeks ahead, the girls will keep cutting fringe, tying knots and stacking up finished blankets — one quick, coordinated half-hour at a time. And somewhere in Iowa City, a family far from home may wrap up in a piece of fleece knotted together by children who wanted to help, even if they’ll never meet.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com