Thousands Of Handmade Blankets Made To Keep Shelter Animals Warm

GLEN ELLYN, IL — Comfort for Critters, a Glen Ellyn-based non-profit, has a soft spot for animals. The group shows its love for animals by donating more than a thousand handmade blankets to animal shelters every month. Since 2007, Comfort for Critters has made and donated more than 50,000 blankets to shelters across the country to keep animals warm and cozy as they wait for their forever homes.

To raise money to cover the postage for sending the blankets, Comfort for Critters founder Linda Kastiel Kozlowski crochets pet blankets from yarn left over from the donated blankets. Comfort for Critters calls these "Remnants Reborn" blankets a "tangible reminder of all the individual blankets" donated to shelter pets across the U.S.

Kozlowsi says, "Comforting pets with blankets isn’t complicated either, but it is powerful! I also only use yarn that we have left over after making our blankets, since we believe in putting shelters first, and then never wasting a bit of donated yarn.”

According to Kozlowski, each "Remnants Reborn" blanket she sells can help ship up to 20 blankets to animals who are awaiting adoption.

Residents can get in on the giving spirit by making their own original blankets. Comfort for Critters has instructions on their website for how to make a yarn or fleece blanket for donation to a shelter animal.

Comfort for Critters ships blankets to more than 250 shelters, allowing them to help dogs, cats, and other small critters in every state.

If you're interested in contributing to the Comfort for Critters mission, here's how you can help:

• Make your own blanket
• Donate yarn or fleece
• Buy a "Remnants Reborn" blanket for your pet

>>Image credit: Lisa Farver, Patch