April 1, 2025
Spaulding R. Aldrich Heritage Gallery, 50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, MA
Do you sew, quilt, knit, or crochet? Would you like to help welcome and warm your new neighbors? Help ValleyCAST support this AMAZING initiative! Dust off your needles and get started now!
What began as one blanket that Los Angeles based artist Jayna Zweiman handmade in 2017 to welcome a refugee family into the United States spawned into a national project called Welcome Blanket. Through Welcome Blanket, makers are encouraged to hand-make blankets that are then displayed in numerous exhibits across the country to help raise awareness and inspire participation. These blankets then go on to be gifted to newly incoming refugees.
Welcome Blanket reminds us of the similarities that people across diverse backgrounds and cultures share and is a celebration of the diversity that is woven into our nation.
ValleyCAST will collect donated blankets up to and during the week of October 20, 2025. See blanket guidelines below. The blankets will be displayed in the Heritage Gallery during November & December. There will be an opening reception to view the blankets on Thursday, November 6, 2025, from 5:00-7:30pm. Blankets will then be gifted at the end of December to the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project (WRAP).
Information on blanket making workshops, knitting/crafting circles, and other events associated with this exhibit coming soon! Please check back!
4 Steps to participate:
1. Everyone is welcome to craft a Welcome Blanket. All mediums are welcome. Sew, knit, crochet, weave, etc. ... as long as it’s handmade with love!
Here are the design guidelines:
- 40” x 40”
- Easy to care for
- Hard to give away (it should hurt a little bit because you love it so much!)
2. Write a Welcome Note:
With your Welcome Blanket, please include a story important to your family about immigration, migration, or relocation along with some words of welcome for the recipient of your Welcome Blanket gift.
Please also include your name (anonymous is ok!), and just city/state, and blanket care instructions. Welcome Note Templates
3. Bring or mail your Welcome Blanket gift to the Heritage Gallery at the Alternatives’ Whitin Mill, 50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, MA 01588. Questions: 508-234-6232 | cristi.collari@openskycs.org
4. Don't forget to join us at the Welcome Blanket Gallery Opening Reception on Thursday, November 6 from 5:00-7:30 PM!
Visit the Welcome Blanket Instagram page to see more BEAUTIFUL handmade blanket donations and HEARTWARMING welcome notes!
Above images taken by Cristi Collari when she visited the amazing Welcome Blanket exhibit at the Rhode Island Museum of Work and Culture, which inspired her to reach out to Jayna Zweiman co-founder of Welcome Blanket, arrange a call to action, and to hold an exhibit here in the Heritage Gallery. Are you inspired to participate?
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