Blanket America Garnering Attention on National Level

Most fundraising projects fizzle out after a few months. Those that do succeed do so my implementing strict management policies and are very well organized. So it comes as a surprise that the new kind on the block, Blanket America, is doing so well. The buy one, give one charity has set a huge goal of donating one million blankets to charity bought through the proceeds of the sales of their Patchwork Heritage quilts. Their success comes as welcome news to many. Big names in the world of charity, news organizations and retailers are jumping aboard in a viral effort to help the cause.

Blanket America created the Patchwork Heritage collection as a response to President Barak Obama's call to action. On January 20, 2009, Obama reached out to the nation with a message of unity and hope. He assured us that "We know our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness" and that though Americans may not agree on most issues, we all have something that we can contribute to help our fellow Americans during these hard times.

From this speech, the idea for the Patchwork Heritage quilt was born. The quilt is sewn from 13 different fabrics representing the 13 original colonies. The reverse of the quilt features the presidential inaugural address over a background with lady liberty standing proudly erect. The quilt is accompanied by matching pillow shams and decorative throw pillows.

Due to its enormously successful pre-launch, Blanket America was recently given an opportunity most charities would kill to have. Lester Holt had Mesh Gelman, the founder of Blanket America, on the Today Show to highlight the poverty problems in America and to help the cause. During the show, Gelman kicked off the donation drive by pledging 5000 blankets to charity.

The Patchwork Heritage collection has garnered support from big name retailers, who have agreed to carry the collection in support of the cause. JC Penney stores will begin carrying the collection in its stores nationwide on January 23. Amazon.com already has the collection on its website for pre-sale. QVC debuted the collection in early January with much fanfare and big sales numbers. All signs are pointing to a bright future for the Blanket America charitable organization.  http://www.blanketamerica.com