Who We Are
Blankets of Blessing is a 501C3 non-profit based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, hosting an annual outreach to children in our local community from low income families that occurs each December.
Our Mission
The mission of Blankets of Blessing is to provide children in our local community with his or her very own blanket and other gifts as an expression of the importance, value and worth of their individual lives.
Our Story
Eleven years ago I spent time at the LA Dream Center to volunteer in helping work with their mission to reach people in the areas of poverty, addiction, and abuse. Seeing the vast number of homeless sleeping on the streets of LA had a profound impact on my life.
Shortly after returning, I was pulling an old blanket from the linen closet and noticed a significant hole had worn in the middle of it. Immediately, the thought came, “Blankets are expensive. How are the poor able to obtain blankets to keep them warm during the cold winter months?”
Years previous, I had become acquainted with a family who invited me and a couple of my friends into their home. I still remember the bare mattress laying on the living room floor that served as both a couch and bed for this single mom and her three children. How would a family facing these challenges be able to keep their children warm if they couldn’t even afford to put sheets on a mattress?
While pulling that blanket out of the closet I heard in my heart, “Blankets of Blessing.” It would be 8 years before this vision would become a reality, and on July 24, 2019, Blankets of Blessing became its own 501C3 non-profit charity serving preschool children from low income families in Broken Arrow, OK and surrounding areas.
Upcoming Event
Saturday, December 2nd, 2023
Mike Fretz Event Center
Donations
Whether you are an individual or a business, we are accepting donations. Checkout our donations page to see exactly what your donation would fund.
Blankets of Blessing 2022
The year of 2022 saw skyrocketing inflation, with the cost of essentials like utilities, gas, and food on the rise, unemployment for some, and increasing hardship on those already struggling to provide for the daily needs of their families. Yet, the mission of Blankets of Blessing remained the same: To provide children from our local community with his or her very own blanket and other essential items (pjs, socks, hats & mittens, warm jacket) as an expression of the importance, value, and worth of their individual lives.
Each year I like to take time to reflect on the “Why’s” of Blankets of Blessing and look back on the “How’s.”
Here are just a very few of the many reasons WHY we do what we do:
- The little girl quietly enjoying her Christmas cookie – happy with just one cookie!
- An unemployed dad whose son’s birthday was just after Christmas—his son wanted a new bike and, they received a bike through the gift drawings.
- A little 2-year-old boy who, this year, received a brand-new balance bike and really wanted to show it to Santa (which he did 😊).
- A mom who said, “It (the outreach) was absolutely amazing! We got a gift card for $200 and our son got a bike!”
- One mom, who took time this year to email and simply say, “I wanted to say thank you so much for my kids Christmas gifts. They loved everything. I loved the Christmas party. It was amazing. Thank you so much.”
Bottom line, the WHY is always the children and their families.
Before each Blankets of Blessing Celebration. I always ponder the HOW and each year the HOW becomes apparent:
- Two sisters in California, 7 and 9, along with their close friends who did a lemonade stand for Blankets of Blessing raising over $400!
- A 10 year-old who instead of receiving birthday gifts from her friends, received gifts for the older siblings of the children we serve attending this year’s event.
- Local businesses (Berkshire Dental since 2019 and The Nutrition Spot BA) who organized toy drives so the children who attended this year’s event would each receive a quality toy.
- A group of men who unexpectedly offered to build the many scooters & bikes that needed to be built for the drawings.
- The over 60 volunteers (middle school aged to 87) including a photographer, who joyfully served the children & their families.
Every smile, every act of kindness, and every interaction with the families we served resulted in a life-changing moment in the lives of the children and wonderful families we honored this year! Thank you!
My heart is so filled with gratitude on behalf of the kids we served this year—many who have kid-sized dreams in their hearts. Whatever your part in making this year’s event the success it was, know that you truly made a difference. Several years ago one of our volunteers from a local business stood with tears in his eyes as the drawings were taking place and quietly shared with me, “When my brother and I were very young, my parents did not have money to give us Christmas gifts. I remember a man coming to my dad and offering to give him money for gifts. My dad, being proud, rejected his offer initially, but the man responded by saying, This isn’t for you, it is for your sons.” My dad received what was offered. I will never forget that Christmas.” As this young man watched the children and parents receiving gifts, it touched a deep part of his heart. Blankets of Blessing is touching lives in many ways we may never know, but I want you to know, whatever your contribution, you are making a tremendous impact. Thank you. We are so grateful!