POCATELLO — Shirley Atkinson said sewing and crafting is her passion, so when she learned about Project Linus, she quickly got on board.

    “I liked the idea that what I made would go to someone who needed it,” Atkinson said. “I like the idea that what I made could warm a child.”

    Atkinson was one of about 40 volunteers who turned out at the First Presbyterian Church Saturday to make blankets for the international organization that provides blankets, afghans and hats to children in need.

    The volunteers, or blanketeers as they are called, turned out with sewing machines, material and quilting tables to craft the hand-made blankets that will eventually make it to a child who has been traumatized or is seriously ill.

    Since its founding in 1998, Project Linus chapters around the world have crafted 4,463,213 blankets. The organization takes its name from the loveable, security blanket toting character in Charlie Brown comics.

    The local chapter started in June and so far, the group has turned out 250 blankets that were presented to local hospitals and children’s support groups.

    Coordinator Jeanne Drais said the group was formed when she and friends, Jan Pantioque and Joyce Weaver joined forces to start the local chapter.

    Drais had been collecting baby panels and pre-printed material and Project Linus seemed like the perfect way to utilize them.

    Most of the material for the blankets is donated by members of the community.

    “We love to give and this happens to be our skill and our talent,” Drais said.

    Saturday was also national Blanket Day, she said.

    Weaver said the project came to life after the three friends got together for lunch following a shopping trip to Salt Lake City, Utah.

    “Jan had been involved with Project Linus in Arizona and asked if we would be interested in starting a local chapter,” Weaver said. “We thought that sounded like a wonderful thing to do.”

    Within weeks, a local chapter started producing blankets.

    The three friends contacted the Project Linus chapter in Idaho Falls and fellow blanketeer Barbara Orr garnered support from a number of local businesses to pay for fleece and batting for the blankets.

    The group meets each Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m.

    There are currently 368 Project Linus chapters in the U.S.