Call for handmade blankets at 2025 Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil
© iStock
Click play to listen to this article.
People attending this year’s We Will Remember: Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil will be greeted by a field of donated handmade blankets and quilts illuminated by candlelight.
December 21, the longest night of the year, will mark the 36th name-reading ceremony memorializing the people who died in 2025 while experiencing homelessness.
Organizer Pat LaMarche said the Homeless Remembrance Blanket Project is really an art display of hand-made love. As the sun sets, she said the blankets start to glow.
"We can actually, at the end of the night, gift someone with a blanket," said LaMarche. "So that not only are we memorializing the people who have passed, but we’re also trying to let the people who are still alive know that they matter, that we care about them."
Last winter’s display took place near the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, where more than a thousand handmade blankets and quilts covered the lawn. Blankets are already arriving in Colorado from across the U.S, Australia, Canada, and Germany.
LaMarche said whether you’re a skilled knitter, sewer, or new to crafting, everyone can contribute to those in need of warmth by connecting with the project online at memorialblanket.org.
Because the display aims to create an even grid, LaMarche said blankets should measure 45 inches by 80 inches for individuals, or 60 inches by 80 inches for family blankets.
"Because so many families are struggling in homelessness," said LaMarche. "And when you’re in your car trying to do your homework, and you’re wrapped in a blanket that someone made for you, that’s gotta make a difference."
Now in its fifth year, the blanket project has seen increased community involvement. LaMarche pointed to one math teacher who created a lesson plan for her students to make quilts as part of their geometry class.
"If there’s a teacher out there that wants to do this with the kids, or if there’s a church group, or if there’s an afterschool program that wants to try and do it," said LaMarche, "we do have lesson plans on the website."
