Afghans for Angel Project: History

When my daughter, Nala, was in 1st grade, her schoolmate Angel (pronounced An-hel) Diaz was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Angel was in the third grade and active in sports and boy scouts. His family had just moved to Ames; his father was unemployed and his mother worked at a nurse at the VA hospital.

 Nala came home and told me about her schoolmate, and she was obviously affected by the announcement. She watched helplessly while her schoolmate, suffering, sick, and weakened by his treatments slowly slipped from the robust, healthy boy everyone knew, and slowly and painfully passed out of their lives.

 At one point during this process, Nala came to me and asked if I would crochet a blanket to be donated to the school fundraiser that was being planned to help Angel’s parents pay for his treatments and to cover the expenses of travel and their stay while he was at the hospital. At that time, our struggling little family was barely getting by. Barely a beginner, I crocheted with yarn and hooks that were gifted to me, and it was a rare treat for me to be able to scrimp enough together to afford an occasional treat for my own kids—let alone buy enough yarn to crochet an entire blanket for someone I didn’t even know...  But, I’ve always been a sucker for Nala’s big green eyes...

 I considered the idea, and realized that building the blanket would not just be a way for us to give something to the fundraiser, but also for Nala to have a hand in working out her confusion and fear, frustration and doubt about the situation.

 So, my mind started churning— I wanted to find a way that we could accomplish her goal without straining our already tight pocket strings. As a student at ISU I had email and access to the Internet, and using Blair’s computer I went online to crafting and crocheting Internet groups. I asked people to donate 1 or 2 crocheted afghan squares, or some unused yarn they might have lying about in their stash. Together, Nala and I would sew together to make a Granny Square Afghan for the fundraiser.

 My goal was to get enough squares to make one blanket—about 100 5” squares.

 We received approximately 3,000 squares and 100 pounds of yarn over the next 3 months.

 And with that, the AFA Project was born.

 Unfortunately, Angel died before we finished the blanket. We were left with mounds and pounds of squares and yarn—and no purpose to which to put them. So, Nala, in her wisdom, said we should make the blankets anyway and give them to other kids who had cancer.  We got a website, and made blankets that we sent to people who’d made requests. Also, we sent boxes of 100 squares and yarn for joining, to ladies and gentlemen that wanted to make one themselves, to give to a child in their community.  

 Two years went by, and we were just to the point where we were ready to close out the project, when Nala came home to tell me that her friend and classmate, Alyson Welk, had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Everything we’d worked so hard to get past came washing over her again, and I knew it wasn’t time to finish the work we’d started.  We again made a request to our friends online, and were once again overwhelmed with an inundation of squares and yarn. This time though, we were successful in our goal. Alyson and the school got their blankets, one of which was purchased by the father of one of Alyson’s closest friends.

 The day after school let out for summer, we received the call— Alyson had passed, and was no longer in pain.  We found out later that the blanket Alyson’s friend received from the raffle served long after Alyson’s passing as a source of comfort.

Over the years, we’ve received several stories about the some of the kids who’ve received our blankets. Kids whose stories touch our hearts. Dennis, a 14-year-old boy from California, received one of our first gifting blankets. It was a really neat blanket that was made from gigantic granny squares sewn together.

 Dennis was touched by the gift-- people he’d never met, from places he’d never seen, had made a blanket just for him, that he took his blanket with him to all his treatments and kept it with him while he was at the hospital.   When he died, his blanket, that he loved so much, was cremated with him.

Another little one, Camilla from New York, was only 3 years old and had lost all her hair to her chemotherapy treatments. She was sad because she loved her hair.  We put together a special blanket for her, purple and white circles on a white background.  The blanket was finished and sent to her at the hospital in time for Halloween— and she carried it with her everywhere.

 But, with all the happiness that comes from a completed project, and hearing how much the little ones like it—it is especially hard when we hear that we’ve lost our little friends. About a year ago, we lost both our website and our database to a virulent virus which swept the ISU servers a couple of years back— and we’ve been rebuilding the project ever since.  I haven’t had as much time to devote to projects because of my new job, and it’s hard to find help here, because I simply don’t know of anyone—and don’t have time to make a lot of new friends.  Our BIGGEST challenge is not making the blankets, or even getting donations; but coming up with the money to ship the requested items.  We would like to make connections with area organizations that might find the yarn donations useful; as it is not cost effective for us to ship large boxes of donated yarns—it’s expensive.

 But, out of the ashes, we find new, small reasons to keep on with the project.  About a year ago, I received word that Dennis’ grandmother, Patt Marcial, used our project as a benchmark and started her own charitable organization, DennisBears. She collects, makes, and buys stuffed animals that she distributes to the children in the oncology ward at the hospital where her grandson was treated. Also, they have sister branches in several other cities where people do the same thing.  We provide support for her group on our website, and help direct donors and drive donations to her site.  She told me that it was the generosity and support from us and other crafters that helped her make it through the devastation of losing her grandson. She uses her project as an outlet and a way to give back.

 Over the years, we’ve sent about 50 Afghans to kids — usually requested by a close friend or family member. But we don’t just send blankets to kids; we’ve sent a couple to adults with illnesses as well (if we have something appropriate.) Additionally, at Nala’s urging, we’ve expanded the scope of the project over the years to include: making requests for donations of preemie booties, hats & blankets for several neo-natal intensive care units (in honor of my friend Tracey who lost her twin boys when they were born 18 wks premature); scarves, hats, and mittens for a Ukrainian orphanage in Smalia; and a re-gifting program where people could dispose of unwanted yarn and we would re-gift it (often anon) to area education and community service organizations, and skills-training programs for underserved demographic groups. Squares that we can’t use for comfortghans (the name we gave to blankets for cancer kids) we sew together and made into tiny little blankets that we donate to animal shelters and humane societies. Our four legged friends get cold in the winter too, and often the animal shelters keep the kennel rooms colder than is comfortable to keep costs down. Even short lengths, which would be unusable in blankets have a home in preschools and elementary school art rooms, boys and girls clubs, and after school programs in underserved and poor communities—where they are made into hair for self portraits or a myriad of other projects.  Odds and ends balls of yarn can be used for lots of crafts and such—and struggling arts teachers often welcomed our gifts. We’ve sent yarn donations to native American reservations for use in their craft projects they use to help them support themselves, and we’ve encouraged people to make and donate cancer caps for kids who’ve lost their hair.

  There are other small reasons as well.  Participation in this project has helped to teach Nala about the importance of philanthropy— it has shown both of us that everyone, with no regard to age, ability, finances, or geographic location, has the power to make a significant difference. Her small idea has grown beyond any vision I ever had for it. At the height of the project, we had hundreds of donors and builders from all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, Ireland, and France. Our donors are men, women, children; blind and sighted (yes, there are blind crocheters); hearing and deaf, wealthy and poor; beginners and experts; and every one of them, from near and abroad, has poured their best wishes, prayers, and heart into every stitch.  One lady named Pirjo from Finland sent us knitted squares in lots of different sizes and shapes. (I’m still working on that blanket, which I’ve called Pirjo’s patchwork.) We never turned away a donation, no matter how oddly shaped or strangely colored— if we couldn’t use it for a blanket, we found another use for it.  

 Recently we were honored when the editor in chief of Crochet! magazine, an internationally distributed magazine about Crochet and crochet techniques printed a 2-page article about our organization in their July 2005 issue. Inclusion in the magazine had a dual effect. First, it brought traffic to our website and helped us find a few new donors. In October, November, and December, we received donations of nearly 1000 squares and 2 complete afghans (now where to put it all!)

 More importantly though, the article helped increase awareness of our little home-based, non-profit, philanthropic organization and helped to educate a broader range of people, both young and old, about the power of individual philanthropic efforts, and the difference one small person can make.  

 So, we sew, and sew, and sew!

 It would be lovely if we could find people who would be willing to sew squares together (most people use the whipstitch but any firm and sturdy joining method is fine). All the materials (except for a large tapestry needle) would be provided; or, people who crochet who can help put the final round on the squares (they come to us without the joining color around the outside.) But, as I’ve said before, it’s hard for me to ask, at least in person. We also would like to know of any kids who are sick (not just with cancer) or who are in need, who might benefit from getting a blanket from our project.

 It’s been great sharing this with you!  Thanks a lot for reading!