By Subadhra R. Sriram

Members of Girl Scout Troop 1168 of Springer School delivered their handmade baby blankets to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Photo by Ted Simon.

Seventeen third-graders from Girl Scout Troop 1168 of Springer School delivered homemade blankets to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, last Thursday.

“I think our children need to have a better sense of helping in ways they can understand,” said Rosie Richardson, the troop leader who organized the effort with parent helpers. We as a community have so much, she said. She didn’t want the girls making a craft that would gather dust on a shelf. Richardson was looking for a project that would combine giving with learning something new.

Richardson recognized the ideal match when she read a newspaper article about Blankets for Babies. The girls would sew the 4-foot-square blankets for premature and troubled babies at the children’s hospital.

Some girls already knew how to sew; others had to learn from scratch. In October, the Scouts started with a practice pillow and then began sewing the blankets. In five hour-long meetings, the baby blankets were completed.

Wrapped in gaily-colored wrapping paper and bright ribbons with homemade cards, the blankets carried an important message: We care, and we want to help.

“I felt really happy knowing I was helping someone in trouble,” said 8-year-old Beth Pearlman.

The NICU houses ‘troubled’ babies - those born prematurely (as early as 24 weeks) and sometimes even full-term babies with heart, lung or other problems.

Kate Teague, a registered nurse at the children’s hospital, began the Blankets for Babies program in the fall of 2002. About 30 groups have participated so far. Teague explains to each group what the NICU does and answers questions before taking them on a tour of one unit.

“When parents dream of having a baby, they think of going home with them,” Teague said. Instead, some babies must stay in incubators in intensive care. During this stressful and intimidating time, blankets and quilts make parents feel one step closer to taking their babies home. They keep the babies warm, provide color and reduce the sterility and technicality of the units. Often the blankets are used not only to wrap the babies but also to cover the incubators in which they sleep.

“It’s a great experience for us and all the people who helped in making the blankets,” Girl Scout Taara Prasad said.

The babies are given a blanket to use in the NICU, which they can bring home when they are discharged as one of their first souvenirs.

“It’s a great memory to have,” said 8-year-old Sophie Natan.

For more information, logon to blanketsforbabies.lpch.org.