In Vermont, Handmade Blankets Welcome Refugees, Immigrants

In Vermont, Handmade Blankets Welcome Refugees, Immigrants

An effort called the Welcome Blanket project aims to help refugees by giving them hand-made blankets. The project has grown over the years. Recently, Welcome Blanket showed at least 86 blankets at the Heritage Mill Museum in Winooski, Vermont.

The blankets were made by people who sewed, crocheted² and knitted them. The person who made the blanket then attaches a handwritten note. The blankets were then given to refugees.

The national group describes its efforts as an artistic³ action that supports refugees settling in the United States.

Jayna Zweiman is an activist⁴ based in Los Angeles. She started Welcome Blanket in 2017 in opposition⁵ to former President Donald Trump's support for a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico.

She is a grandchild of refugees and grew up hearing stories about her grandfather seeing the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. She said it made him feel welcome.

She wanted people coming to this country now to have the same feeling that her grandfather had as well as so many other immigrants. She wanted a way to help them.

Since that time thousands of blankets and notes have been made for shows across the country. After the blankets are displayed, they are given away in welcome boxes to refugees and immigrants at the event or through local charity groups.

The project started to help refugees who were forced to leave their countries because of war, persecution⁶ or a natural disaster. The blankets have also gone to immigrants.

Aisha Bitini came to the U.S. from Congo in Africa. She is now living in the state of Vermont. She said that she loves the blanket she chose, a soft crocheted one with gold, dark red, white and gray colors. She picked it out at a blanket giveaway at the Association of Africans Living in Vermont.

"I'm so blessed to have one of them," she said. "This beautiful blanket" and the note that came with it made her "feel so special."

Kalyan Adhikari is from Nepal. He said the Vermont project makes refugees feel welcomed and more at home.

He said that the project is "such a kind and warm initiative. This makes my heart warm. I can't thank them enough," he said about the blanket makers⁷.

Hollie Shaner-McRae is from Burlington, Vermont. She made one of the blankets being shown in March at the Heritage Hill Museum. The blanket is purple with white and gray stripes. On a note she placed on her blanket, she wrote about her great-grandparents coming to America from Ukraine, Russia, and Poland.

Her note said, "Welcome to the USA." One of her great-grandfathers made clothing by hand, and the other made large wooden containers. "Both were so brave and came to America as teenagers," she wrote in the note.

"I hope you make friends and feel safe here. Vermont is blessed to have new families arrive and enrich our world," she continued in her note.

Sonia Savoulian lives in Los Angeles in the state of California. She is an immigrant herself and makes things with yarn⁸. She started making blankets in 2018. Since then, she has made about 50 blankets.

Savoulian said that the Welcome Blanket project is both a creative activity for the people who make them; and it is a product that helps people new to the US, "feel an embrace, a welcome and an aspiration⁹," she said.

Jayna Zweiman hopes that blanket-making will become a tradition in the US.

"I want this happening 50 years from now," she said. "And I want a kid who took part in this...to remember that he had actually physically¹⁰ made something for someone who was coming."

Words in This Story

blanket – n. a covering that is used to keep you warm

sew – v. to use a needle and thread to make or repair clothes or cloth object

crochet¹ – n. a method of making cloth or clothing by using a needle with a hook at the end to form and weave loops in a thread

knit – v. to make (a piece of clothing) from yarn or thread by using long needles or a special machine

charity – n. an organization that helps people who are poor, sick, or otherwise in need

persecution – n. the treatment of someone unfairly or cruelly because of their race, religion, or beliefs

blessed – adj. having a sacred nature; connected with God; very welcome, pleasant, or appreciated

initiative – n. a plan or project, usually involving many people or groups, to accomplish or achieve some result

yarn – n. thread used for knitting, weaving, or sewing

embrace – v. to hold in the arms

aspiration – n. a hope or goal for the future

1 crochet   

n.钩针织物；v.用钩针编制

参考例句：

• That's a black crochet waistcoat.那是一件用钩针编织的黑色马甲。
• She offered to teach me to crochet rugs.她提出要教我钩织小地毯。

2 crocheted   

v.用钩针编织( crochet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mom and I crocheted new quilts. 我和妈妈钩织了新床罩。 来自辞典例句
• Aunt Paula crocheted a beautiful blanket for the baby. 宝拉婶婶为婴孩编织了一条美丽的毯子。 来自互联网

3 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

9 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。