CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A local non-profit group in Charlotte is helping to give peace and comfort to sick children in hospitals.
The group, Linus Project, focuses on creating beautiful homemade blankets that are donated to local hospitals and other organizations that treat sick or injured children.
Project Linus is a national organization, with a local chapter in Charlotte.
Mary Crew, the coordinator of the Charlotte chapter, said the homemade blankets that the volunteers make for the kids are special.
"The love and the thought that you give to a child even though you don't know that child," Crew said. "You're making it for a child that you know is in trauma of some sort, they might be sick or injured... that kind of comes through in the making of the blankets."
Crew said they'll usually get cards and letters from patients who received their blankets.
"The kids grow up and want to send us a letter and tell us how much the blanket meant to them," Crew said. "They will tell us a lot of times the circumstances they were in and a lot of times it will make us cry."
The homemade blankets really provide a sense of security and comfort for the kids.
"Just knowing that somebody somewhere cared enough about them to make this blanket and it made its way to that child."
Project Linus was named after 'Linus' from The Peanuts cartoon. The non-profit organization received special permission from The Peanuts creator, Charles M. Schulz, to use the name Linus and its logo for their project.
"If you watch those little shows when they're on, Linus' blanket means a lot to him and anybody who's ever had a security blanket knows that that has sometimes been the one thing that held them together in a tough situation," Crew said.
One of the many organizations Project Linus donates blankets to is the Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte.
The Ronald McDonald House provides a safe, affordable and caring "home-away-from-home" for the families of children receiving treatment in Charlotte-area medical facilities. They also make sure every child who has to stay at their facility has a homemade blanket and teddy bear for comfort.
"We have guests here of all ages and it's nice for them to come into the room and see the blanket and have something nice and warm to curl up with and kind of feel like home," said Jennifer Dellinger, a volunteer for The Ronald McDonald House.
Crew told NBC Charlotte a lot of elderly and senior members of the community will step in to help make blankets because it's a way for them to feel important and connected with their community.
"They still have skills that they learned as a younger person, they can contribute to our group too," Crew said. "That makes them feel like they're still a valuable member of society."