Handmade blankets welcome refugees from Ukraine, Russia and Poland to US

"Welcome to USA," says a te attached to a hand-crocheted blanket of purple, white and gray stripes.

Hollie Shaner-McRae, of Burlington, who me blanket as a gift for a refugee, wrote of her great grandparents coming to United States from Ukraine, Russia and Poland.

One great grandfar was a tailor and or was a barrel maker, she wrote. “Both were so brave and came to America as teenrs," she wrote in te. “I hope you make friends and feel safe here,” Shaner-McRae wrote to whomever would receive blanket. “Vermont is blessed to have new families arrive and enrich our world.”

quilt was one of at least 86 artistic blankets that crafters sewed, crocheted and knitted as gifts for refugees and immigrants to make m feel welcomed in ir new community in Vermont. handme creations were on display at Herit Mill Museum in Wioski, Vermont, before y were given away to refugees last week.

effort is part of national Welcome Blanket project, which describes itself as a crowd-sourced artistic action supporting refugees settling in U.S. Los Angeles activist Jayna Zweiman started Welcome Blanket in 2017 in opposition to Donald Trump’s candidacy speeches about building a wall between United State and Mexico.

As a grandchild of refugees, she grew up with family stories of her grandfar seeing Statue of Liberty. That monument deces later still me him feel welcomed, she said.

Just as Statue of Liberty was seen as an inviting symbol for immigrants in late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zweiman thought at time: “What can we do in 21st century as people are coming through se different ports to welcome m?"

To date, thousands of blankets and tes have been created around country for exhibits including in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Wioski, Vermont. blankets, accompanied with personal tes from ir creators, were n gifted to refugees at events, in welcome boxes, at ir new housing or through charity groups.

project is geared toward refugees — people forced to leave ir home or country to escape war, persecution or natural disaster — including Ukrainians who escaped Russian invasion of ir home country. But blankets have also gone to immigrants.

In Vermont, Aisha Bitini, who is originally from Congo, that she loves blanket she chose — a soft, crocheted piece me up of large squares of gold, maroon, off-white and gray.

“I’m so blessed to have one of m,” she said, draping it over her shoulder. She picked it out at blanket giveaway held last week at Association of Africans Living in Vermont, or AALV.

te that came with blanket “feels so special,” Bitini said, ding that she thanks person who me “this beautiful blanket” and that she will "cherish it forever."

Kalyan hikari, who's originally from Nepal, said Vermont project was “such a kind and warm initiative.” He said it makes refugees feel welcome and little bit more like y're home.

“This makes my heart warm. I can't thank m eugh,” he said of blanket-makers.

immigrant-refugee story resonated with Sonia Savoulian, of Los Angeles, when in 2017 n-President Donald Trump imposed a ban on travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries. Her ancestry is Armenian, and her family includes refugees and immigrants. She herself is an immigrant — and she also happens to make things with yarn.

Welcome Blanket project combines a creative outlet with a product that would help newcomers to U.S. “feel an embrace, a welcome and an aspiration,” she said. Since making her first Welcome Blankets for an exhibit in Atlanta in 2018, she has me a total of about 50 such blankets.

Zweiman said she hopes blanket-making for refugees will become an American trition.

“I want this happening 50 years from w,” she said. “And I want a kid who took part in this, ... when next wave of xephobia comes, to remember that he h actually physically me something for someone who was coming.”