A blanket-making event started by Jenn Snodgrass and Tonya Disque seven years ago has resulted in more than 600 blankets being given to those who are in need of a little extra warmth in the wintertime.

This is the sixth time for the blanket-making party because last year’s event was canceled due to COVID-19.

This year, the party was back and held Saturday at Rockford United Methodist Church just north of Seymour.

The sessions to make blankets for Anchor House Family Assistance Center and Pantry and other local organizations are open to anyone or any volunteer group.

“We have lots of members of the Rockford church here today, and they’re doing this out of the goodness of their hearts and are such a huge help,” Snodgrass said. “About half of the people who make the blankets are from this church, and they’re not a big church.”

While the congregation of the church at 1934 N. Ewing St. does not organize the event, they provide the space for the work, and many members of the congregation volunteer to help make the blankets.

“The Rockford church has a very dedicated membership, and many of them help with this each year, and the majority of the church is here today,” Snodgrass said. “The spirit is with this church, and the first time I walked in around 1999 or 2000, I was made to feel very welcome and just like family.”

Snodgrass has ties to the church because she was married there, and her husband, Matt, is a pastor at two other churches that contribute to the project, Hartsville United Methodist Church and Newbern United Methodist Church.

“We’ve also given blankets to The Alley, Schneck cancer center and other organizations in the past,” Snodgrass said. “Wherever there’s a need, we try to help fill that need.”

By the end of the day, the hope was to have around 60 blankets completed, and then they’ll do it again in January. By then, they should have at least 100 blankets to hand out this winter. The group tries to make at least 100 every year, and they’ve done really well so far, Snodgrass said.

During the daylong party, volunteers took scissors in hand to help cut slits around the edges of two pieces of fabric and then tie double knots all the way around to create a fleece tie blanket.

As the helpers worked in the fellowship hall, breakfast and lunch was made available for them.

Remnants left over from the blankets are used to make scarves.

Church member Janet Dyer was at the sewing machine making scarves while others made the blankets. She has helped all six years.

She said she was glad to be there to help out because she knows it’s for a good cause. As she makes each scarf, she tries to think about who will receive it.

“It’s one way that we can help, and we know that it’s going to somebody that needs it,” she said.

Longtime church member Jeanne Culp was making blankets with her husband, Don Culp, and daughter, Bridget White.

“It makes you feel really good to know these are going to people who really need them,” Jeanne said.

Lindsay Sarver, fund development director for Anchor House, was there, too, at a table with church member Sarah Schwab.

“We love giving these blankets out at our shelter, especially when there are kids so they can have their own fuzzy blanket and then they get to take it with them when they leave,” Sarver said. “Our main shelter houses seven families at a time, and the new east shelter has room for three more families.”

The new facility at 326 Dupont Drive, Seymour, allows those three families to have rooms that lock and they have their own bathrooms, and it makes the staff at Anchor House really happy they can help more people, she said.

“When we opened the new facility in February, it was just an overnight shelter, but now, we have the same programming as we do for the family shelter,” Sarver said. “It’s fully 24-hour staffed and for both individuals and families, so we can serve the people who weren’t getting served before, and there is room for 36 individuals plus the three families, so we can house about 50 people there.”

She said they started the new shelter in the middle of the pandemic, and they were using plastic sheets and air mattresses. Now, they have beds, internet, caseworkers and more, so it has been a really big year.

“When we were getting ready to open in February, we put a call out to all of the churches and the community that we needed sheets and blankets, and the local churches turned out and they turned out big,” she said. “Still, so many of the blankets and comforters the churches and other organizations gave us are being used every day when people come in, and it’s so nice and we couldn’t have done it without their help.”

One of the problems Anchor House had at the family shelter was until they opened the new one, they would always have a wait list.

“One of the hardest things to do is to see somebody, especially people who have kids, and have to tell them ‘I’m sorry. You’ll have to wait a couple months,’ knowing they’ll be going back to living in their car or a sketchy hotel. It’s just awful,” Sarver said.

Intakes are done every day between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., and anyone in need of assistance is encouraged to call Anchor House at 812-522-9308.