A Ponoka mother, along with friends, family and the Kinettes, spent Sunday, June 7 making Cole’s Blankets for families grieving miscarriages and stillborns across Central Alberta.
The Cole’s Blankets program began in 2011 after Marcie Prediger gave birth to identical twins Cole and Cade at 37 weeks in 2010; sadly, Cole was stillborn.
The first Cole’s Blanker was made by Prediger’s sister to mark Cole’s cremation. The patterns was found on the Internet and when a nurse at the Red Deer Regional Hospital expressed an interest in the blanket, the Cole’s Blankets program was born.
“My goal is for every baby in central Alberta that needs a Cole’s Blanket has one,” said Prediger.
After the first blanket, Prediger says she realized what kind of a need there was for such a program in central Alberta. Creating and donating the blankets also helped her heal.
Since the program’s creation Prediger says approximately 700 Cole’s Blankets have been made and donated to different hospitals. “We’ve expanded some of our donations to rural hospitals.”
Cole’s Blankets originally donated only to Red Deer and Edmonton, but are now in other smaller units such as the Ponoka Hospital and Care Centre. “I took them there myself,” said Prediger.
Prediger holds approximately two blanket bees per year and this was the seventh.
Prediger says she always has lots of material but she is looking for more sewers. For those wanting to get involved they can contact Prediger at 403-783-6757 or at marcieshepperd@hotmail.com.
This is the first year the Ponoka Kinettes got on board with Cole’s Blankets. “We just do ‘Done in a Day’ projects and this is one we already knew about,” said Kinettes member Leanne Reed.