I am a social worker at Reading School District in Reading Pennsylvania. Many students and families in the district are economically disadvantaged, with over 90 percent of students receiving free and reduced lunch. Blankets of Hope has been an amazing partner to help us meet the needs of our families. Their support has been instrumental in removing barriers for families so that our Reading Students may be successful in their pursuit of education. Some of the basic needs that Blankets of Hope have assisted with are Blankets and Mattresses. During Covid-19 these needs became greater. Blankets of Hope made sure that the District was prioritized as receiving help during this time. We love our partnership with Blankets of Hope and are very grateful to have them in our community!
Blankets of Hope is a wonderful asset to Safe Berks, Berks County, PA, and our work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Blankets of Hope founder Marc Goldstein started off supplying hundreds of new blankets to the adults and children in our Safe House. These blankets provide warmth and comfort to residents of our Safe House, and also travel with them to their new homes when they leave Safe Berks. Soon Marc added the offer of providing brand-new, twin-size beds to our clients who were moving out of our Safe House and into their own independent homes. These beds can be utilized for the client and his or her children and are delivered directly to their new residence. This was an incredible gift to our clients! When the COVID-19 pandemic hit earlier this year, Marc saw we had a need for masks and has since donated over 1,000 masks to enhance the safety and health of our clients and staff. Everyone at Safe Berks is so grateful for the support of Blankets of Hope and all they do for us and for the entire Berks County community! We plan to recognize Blankets of Hope by honoring the organization with our Voices for Change award. This award honors individuals and institutions whose work makes a significant contribution to furthering the mission of Safe Berks. This review was written by Mindy McIntosh, Director of Development at Safe Berks, and Francine Scoboria, Communications Coordinator at Safe Berks.
Blankets of hope does make a positive impact for people young and old, along with animals too. I have seen dogs and cats curl up in a BOH blanket for warm and sercurity.
Also, I have been able to personally hand blankets to children, elderly and homeless people. Nothing warms my heart more then seeing a child grab the blanket and hold it tight or a homeless person telling me he will now be warm at night. This nonprofit donated Blankets in honor of my mom to the nursing home she was in, so other men and women had the warmth and comfort that my mom had from hers! But Blankets of Hope is not just about blankets. This organization was able to help, a family at my school, get two beds for students that needed them. The mom cried when she was told about the beds and made it a point to contact me to thank me for contacting Blankets of Hope. After that time Blankets of hope has assisted numerous families within the school district receive beds and blankets. This organization cares about keeping people(young and old) and our four legged friends feel safe, secure and warm!
Marc is always willing to listen to what is needed and do what he can, with his COUNTY TEAM (which means diverse dedicated people from varied socio-economic backgrounds who lend whatever resource and treasure they can at that time) because "Every person deserves to feel Secure, to be Warm, and to have HOPE!"
I became familiar with the work of Blankets of Hope through my church, Immanuel UCC. The mission of BOH directly relates to ours in providing not only goods, but also providing HOPE. I applaud BOH as their vision (through founder, Marc Goldstein in partnership with Berks Coalition to End Homelessness) continues to expand. Not only do they donate warm blankets, they are now also providing complete bed sets (Twin mattress, box spring, mattress pad, twin sheets, pillow and pillowcase & two sizes of blankets). We can all agree, as their motto states: “Every person deserves to feel SECURE, to be WARM and to have HOPE!”
In December 2012, my longtime friend, Marc Goldstein approached me with his idea to try to improve the quality of life for the residents in Reading and Berks County, because there was some national attention on the poverty in our community and Reading was labelled as one of the poorest cities. His idea was to try to give warmth, comfort and hope to individuals in our community who needed it due to poverty, abuse, disease, or temporary homelessness or joblessness. The concept was to provide blankets to those in need, so they had something of their own to hang onto and to warm and comfort them. Marc did the homework to find a supplier and several ways to try to raise funds for the blankets, and Blankets of Hope was off and running. Since its inception, Blankets of Hope has also begun to supply beds and PPE to 1st responders and hospital staff.
My experience as a co-founder and board member has enriched my life by enabling me to help give back to my local community and have a direct impact on people's lives. The look on a person's face when he gets a new blanket of his own or the exclamation of joy from a child when she gets her 1st bed of her own, are the reasons this is a great organization. I am able to work with Marc and our other board members to continue to serve our community and look for new ideas to improve our role as a non-profit.
While some may think a blanket or a bed is small potatoes compared with other non-profits that fight diseases or that have broader mission statements, Blankets of Hope is very effective in our community and 100% of all donations go to our cause, not salaries or expenses as all board members are unpaid volunteers.
With Blankets Of Hope you can see the immediate impact of your donation. The dedication of the board and volunteers to creatively support the community is inspiring. They are attentive and sincere to expressing gratitude to their donors.
Blankets of Hopes Berks is a nonprofit that is truly a pillar in our community. They are always willing to help both directly with the most vulnerable as well as to empower and assist other leaders wanting to make a difference. Everyone deserves to have hope and feel safe and secure. That message along with these blankets and beds creates a long lasting affect well beyond just simple warmth or comfort. You know that someone cares about you when you receive these gifts and I have seen it help to turn lives around. As a community leader you want to make more of an impact knowing that they support you. I work largely with children battling serious illness with my charity group Zoo Much Fun, and Marc has always been more than happy to assist with providing a bed to a little girl battling cancer, blankets, hope, advice, encouragement and cheer.
Blankets of Hope Berks also stepped up and provided a significant amount of masks during the pandemic to first responders, front line workers and the most vulnerable. Not only did they provide comfort, but they helped to slow the spread and save lives.
We began our relationship with Blankets of Hope in June of 2019 after about a month or so of discussions. The relationship has grown smoothly with zero problems or issues. Marc is always available and accessible. We are very proud of our work with Blankets of Hope and look forward to continuing and growing the relationship and being part of the great work that Blankets of Hope does in the communities they serve. They provide a unique service that other nonprofits haven't tapped into.