Each year the K.I.C.K.S. (“Kids In Christ Know Service”) youth group at Trinity Christian Reformed Church in Ames, Iowa, gets together for Project Linus, a service project that involves making fleece blankets for hospitals, social service organizations, and low-income families.
KICKS and Trinity members participate in making blankets for Project Linus.
Photo by Jane Sternberg
Project Linus is a national organization that features drop centers all around the country. They gather and distribute the blankets year round. The name comes from the blanket-toting character Linus from the classic Peanuts comic strip.
This year, the youth group contributed seven blankets to the project. The primary recipients are children in hospitals, but the blankets are also distributed to social services and other organizations.
“[Project Linus is] a great activity to do during the winter months,” said Jane Sternberg, the church’s youth coordinator.
K.I.C.K.S. includes students from grades 3-8, as well as their families. Each month the group selects a service project and an activity, which they invite the entire congregation to join. The youth program is geared for outreach, teaching the children that people of all ages can participate in God’s kingdom.
In addition to Project Linus, K.I.C.K.S. participates in Stash the Trash, a community-organized trash pick-up, holiday card-making for Child Serve and Meals on Wheels, serving food at church functions, and other service-based projects.
“Our youth group enjoys being able to do creative work that is beneficial to the world around them,” said Sternberg. “We have a group of youth that are eager, willing, and capable individuals to serve according to their gifts to the glory of God.”