2013 Blankets for Preemies

The Tiny Miracles Foundation in partnership with the Middlesex Middle School was thrilled to successfully roll out their 7th annual Blankets for Preemies Program. The effort was launched at the Wee Burn Country Club in Darien, who donated space in February for 3 days to over 100 volunteers from various towns in Fairfield County to come  cut thousands of yards of fleece. This pre-cutting was phase one of a multi-step process that ultimately yielded 1000 blankets.  Pre-cutters included local Girl Scout troops, senior citizens from Maplewood, local students, parents of preemies, and kind-hearted volunteers who just wanted to help.

Phase two occurred with the energetic students at Middlesex Middle School in Darien who completed the whopping majority of blankets. The 7th grade Blue team at MMS, under the leadership of science teacher and preemie mother, Kelly Depiano, can be credited with finishing over 450 blankets.  Depiano founded the Blankets for Preemies program in MMS in honor of her friend’s preemie, Sean James Maloney, who passed away.  She partnered her efforts with The Tiny Miracles Foundation, and together they raise the money, make and distribute the blankets.  The kids spent some of the day learning about community service, premature birth and why the blankets over the incubators help the preemies, and the rest of the day was devoted to knotting, finishing and packaging the blankets.

Leelee Klein, the President of TTMF and a mother of preemie twins, who are now 13 years old and students at MMS, was the keynote speaker during the learning part of the Blankets for Preemies Program.  She captivated her young audience by telling them that the blankets are so much more than just a gift. “These blankets are often the first positive gesture families receive after the shock of their baby being born prematurely, and they tend to carry a tremendous significance to these families,” Klein said. In addition, the blankets serve several important psychosocial and developmental functions, including:

• -Helping regulate babies’ sleep patterns by providing a dark, quiet environment;
• -Improving fragile preemies’ neurological development by shielding them from excess light and noise in the NICU;
• -Helping parents identify their baby’s isolette by their own beautiful blanket;
• -Brightening the NICU by adding color and cheer to the decor; and
• -Giving families a beautiful and functional keepsake gift to use in the NICU and at home for years to come.

“In fact,” Klein noted, “the Keepsake Fleece Isolette Cover Blankets are so popular with preemie families and NICU nurses that Tiny Miracles is asked to deliver over 1,200 blankets per year–more than any other supply we offer!”

Phase Three occurred thanks to the Darien High School Community Council, led by Courtney Kyritz, a DHS senior.  In an inspiring, feel-good, one-day effort, all DHS students were invited to pop in the “Chill” room during their free periods to transform some of the pre-cut fleece into 30 completed blankets.   DHS students weren’t the only ones helping with Phase Three.  It was also powered by several different Girl Scout troops , New Canaan Country School students and other volunteer groups in town.

The blankets will go to premature babies and their families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) at Bridgeport, Norwalk , Stamford and Danbury Hospitals.   To learn more about the different programs of The Tiny Miracles Foundation go to www.ttmf.org.