The popularity of soft, warm fleece blankets is unsurprising. These lightweight and cosy items bring comfort to anyone who uses one. Such comfort is especially important to children in need. Since 2004, Pleasanton resident Jo Molz, her daughter, and other volunteers have been making fleece blankets for neglected, abused, and at-risk children.

The nonprofit Molz founded, Blankets for Kids, uses 100% of donated funds as well as donated fleece for making blankets. After Molz retired, her daughter showed her a no-sew blanket pattern on the Internet that was so easy it could be made by nearly anyone. To follow the pattern, small squares are cut out of each corner of the fabric and the selvages are trimmed off. But none of that fabric is thrown out, according to Molz.

"We use it to make pillows, more blankets, and little animals," she says. "We use everything. Not a thing is wasted!"

Over the years many local people have become enthusiastic blanket-making volunteers for Blankets for Kids. Many blankets have been crafted by the residents of Ridgeview Commons in Pleasanton as well as the residents of Pleasanton Gardens. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church groups, and interested individuals have also joined in sociable "blanket parties" to make individual fleece blankets that will be distributed to neglected children.

Blankets are crafted in three sizes to fit toddlers through adolescents. The completed blankets are distributed through many different agencies and programs that serve vulnerable children. Those agencies and programs include the police departments of the cities of Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, and Livermore; Alameda County Child Protection Agency; Calico Center in Castro Valley; Agape Villages in San Ramon; Tri-Valley Haven and Shepherd's Gate in Livermore; and My Stuff Bags in Westlake Village, Los Angeles.

Molz estimates that volunteers for Blankets for Kids have crafted more than 60,000 blankets in the 14 years the nonprofit has been in operation.

"That is pretty amazing for a little grass roots organization," she notes, but points out that with 350,000 abused and neglected children in the United States, there are always more children who could use blankets. Tri-Valley residents are encouraged to help.

"We accept fleece, we accept fleece blankets that are single layer, and we will accept money," says Molz. "Nobody in this group is paid for anything." In fact, Molz relies entirely on volunteers and donations, paying expenses like gas, stationery, stamps, and refreshments for volunteers out of her own pocket.

For Molz, the best part of founding Blankets for Kids has been meeting all the hardworking volunteers who have joined her in reaching out in this special way to children in need.

"My volunteers are wonderful, all of them, down to the little kids who make blankets," she says.

For more information, please call (925) 846-6155 or email blanketsforkids@sbcglobal.net.