Junior Lauren Ross was looking for a certain type of yarn online for her crocheting hobby. What she found was Binky Patrol, a national charity that distributes homemade blankets to those who need them. There wasn’t a local chapter in place so she started one with her mother, Patricia Ross, co-signing the paperwork.

The organization’s mission statement is to be an “all volunteer, national, non-profit organization making and distributing homemade blankets to children born HIV-positive, drug-addicted, infected with AIDS or other chronic and terminal illnesses, those who are abused, in foster care or experiencing trauma of any kind,” according to its website, www.binkypatrol.org.

Volunteers can crochet, knit, sew, or quilt the blankets. Lauren crochets them, using a different stitch, style, or color for each. “There’s not really a lot of requirements for the blankets, they just have to be three feet by three feet, so it would get boring to do them all the same,” she said. “There’s more creativity this way.”

However, Lauren didn’t begin crocheting by making blankets. She started smaller, with a pattern for a winter hat.

“This summer, in the beginning of August, [my sister] Justine stepped on a rock and hurt herself so I had to watch her. My mom had a book of crocheting so I picked it up,” she said. “I started with making hats and I probably made about 20. I made hats for the entire girls’ ski team.”

Once she found the charity, Lauren took a break from the hats and started to make blankets. “She had been crocheting so much she thought ‘well, how many ski hats can I make?’” said Patricia. “She thought this way she’d be able to put it to good use.”

Lauren also taught her mom how to crochet in the summer. “I tried to teach myself last year and it wasn’t very successful” said Patricia. “I had the ‘Learn to Crochet’ books and Lauren picked it up and taught herself, then taught me. I’m crocheting constantly. When I sit down for the evening, I’m crocheting. It’s a productive and good thing to do and I enjoy it. I have some polar fleece that I’ll sew so that will go quicker, but it’s also fun to crochet.”

Since September, Lauren has completed three “binkies.” She doesn’t crochet every night, but finds time to do so at least a couple of times a week. “It’s more productive than just sitting and watching TV,” Lauren said. “One of the things I liked about this charity and starting my own chapter was I could do it on my own time. I’m a busy person and there are no deadlines with this.”

According to the organization’s website, “each chapter makes an average of 360 binkies per year. Some chapters make as many as 1,200. That’s a lot of children we’re helping.”

The children receiving the blankets range in age from infancy to 18 years old. They might be in foster homes, hospitals, shelters, and anywhere else where children are going through trauma.

As an Area Coordinator, Lauren must recruit members, host meetings, correspond with the Binky Patrol Headquarters, and track expenses, contributions, and submit chapter reports quarterly. “I have to find companies to donate fabric and supplies. I have to do all the IRS stuff since it is tax deductible, and I have to find charities to deliver to,” she said.

Since she’s not 18 years old, she needed an adult to co-sign, but Lauren is the one coordinating the chapter. “Lauren’s the one who’s responsible for this. I’ll support and help her, but it’s her responsibility. She heard back from the person in California who’s in charge and because she’s not 18 she needed an adult to co-sign,” said Patricia. “It’s clearly a legitimate organization. They have all the tax forms and it’s been around for a number of years. It has all the structure around it.”

Once the chapter gets larger, Lauren plans to distribute the blankets monthly. “[My mom and I] just sent in the form we had to sign, so it’s just official now,” she said. “[So far] I was actually surprised by the number of people willing to do it.”

For more information about the chapter, contact Lauren at (413)-599-1322.