Blankets for Preemies 2016

May 23, 2016

For more information contact: Christine Yang

Over 200 student volunteers from Middlesex Middle School in Darien, some of their parents, teachers and TTMF volunteers from various towns in Fairfield County finished making 500 blankets this year. Darien High School Community Council also arranged a Blankets for Preemies making day in the chill zone, and high school students jumped in on the effort by finishing up the last 30 blankets!

Mrs. Depiano, a mother a twins born prematurely, founded the Blankets for Preemies program in honor of her friend’s preemie, Sean James Maloney, who was also born premature but passed away several weeks after birth. She partnered her efforts with The Tiny Miracles Foundation, and together they raise the money, make and distribute the blankets to the local Neonatal Units in Fairfield County. Over $100,000 has been raised over the past 10 years by the Middle School children and The Tiny Miracles Foundation to support the program.

The colorful fleece blankets are distributed by The Tiny Miracles Foundation for covering the incubators in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) at Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford and Danbury Hospitals. The attractive blankets make it easy for families to find their babies in the units, and keep the incubators dark, warm and quiet, to support the fragile brain development in premature babies. When the babies finally go home with their families, the blankets go home as a gift and they become a special memory of the caring people were looking out for them during this difficult time.

For more information about The Tiny Miracles Foundation and their support services for families of premature babies in Fairfield County, please go to www.ttmf.org or their Darien office at 203-202-9714.