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Need Community Service Hours? We've got you covered!

Susan Finch, Founder | News > From the section: Community Service Highlights
July, 2021 |

Before you choose Binky Patrol for your community service, make sure the agency, school, etc. you have to report it to will accept us. If you have contacted a local chapter and they will not accept community service, please alert BP National Headquarters and we will figure it out. sfinch@binkypatrol.org - founder

WE DO NOT ACCEPT LAST MINUTE VERIFICATIONS.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT USED BINKIES - YOU MUST MAKE THEM, NOT YOUR GRANDMA.

We are a 501c3. We can give you that documentation for them. Because we don't have local offices, other than our local chapters, some won't accept something as simple as allowing you to comfort children through virtual volunteering or making blankets at your home. Go figure. If you are able to submit hours from Binky Patrol, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Use our drop-down menu at the top to find a chapter near you.
  2. Contact that chapter leader directly and ask them how you can help.
  3. If you can't find a chapter near you, contact BPHQ: binky@binkypatrol.org about volunteering. Do not choose Dallas, or Portland chapters. That runs through National HQ only.
  4. Make blankets, help on our website, host an event - it all counts for HOURS, but we need to verify whatever you choose. It would be good to ask your Binky Patrol contact. Tell us what you are ABLE to do, willing to do and the hours you need by when.
  5. When you are done, your Binky Patrol contact will verify the hours you spent. We do this a variety of ways. When there is no chapter near you or that chapter is not participating in this program, this is what we do: 
    1. After you have verified you can choose Binky Patrol - check with your parole officer, court, etc. - email Founder, Susan Finch to ask for a pdf of the delivery receipt. (sfinch@binkypatrol.org)
    2. YOU buy the fabric to make the NEW blankets. Make sure they follow the criteria for the hours that you need.
    3. You find the place to deliver them to locally a clinic, shelter, etc. that serves people directly - not another non-profit like us - you have to get them to the agency that needs them. This saves shipping money for no reason and gets you involved in your local community. This is TIME too. Research and delivery can take a bit of time.
    4. Contact them to arrange delivery time and to make sure they will accept them.
    5. You'll need to get a photo of you there with them delivering the blankets.
    6. You'll need them to sign the receipt we emailed to you.
    7. You'll need their business card so we can call to verify - this is because we don't know you and we are not there and people have been less than honorable in the past so we make this procedure.
    8. Email Susan Finch (sfinch@binkypatrol.org) the photo of you with them, the business card and of the receipt so they can all be read, along with your address for the letter.
    9. She will email you back a signed letter on Binky Patrol letterhead verifying your hours.
    10. If you are wanting to do something other than making blankets, it's trickier, but we can figure it out. Again, contact Susan Finch, our founder.
  6. Fleece blankets take less time than sewn, quilted or crocheted. We have hours set for each type of blanket.
    1. Basic strip, sewn med-large blanket (4'x4', 4'x6') with batting and backing - simple in a quilter's eye: 3 hrs each. If you get fancy, let us know - we will work with you. SAMPLE HERE
    2. No-Sew Fleece - large (4' x 5' - 6'): 1 hr each blanket - I've been testing and they don't take long to cut or tie. 8-year-olds can get them done in under an hour. INSTRUCTIONS HERE
    3. Crocheted - small,  3 x 3 simple pattern: 6 hrs each blanket - depends on pattern.
    4. Knitted - 3x3.5 small/med, simple - 7 hours each blanket - depends on pattern.
  7. Send/give your verification form to the Binky Patrol contact to fill out on your behalf. If mailing, send with a self-addressed-stamped envelope (SASE) to speed up the process. Remember, we can do a lot of this via email. We will call the agency to verify you did do this. Remember, we don't know you, you are remote. This is a lot of trust to help you get these hours. Don't try to be a weasel. We don't like weasels. 
  8. If you PURCHASED materials for this project, mail in your ORIGINAL receipts (no copies accepted) stapled to a quick note explaining what they are and your address, etc. so we can issue you a tax receipt for your donation. Postage counts, too. Mail it to National Headquarters and they will mail you back a receipt. Include a SASE.  Our address is:  Binky Patrol, PO Box 652, Beaverton, OR 97075-0652. On the ouside write in the lower left corner: COMMUNITY SERVICE.
  9. If you are giving to us directly - by dropping off to a local chapter, we receive the blankets, forms, etc. and sign your receipt and form.
  10. YOU have MADE A DIFFERENCE in the life of a CHILD or TEEN who needed comfort - YOU DID IT! 
  11. Want to keep doing it?  We've LOVE IT!
WE WILL NOT COUNT OR ACCEPT ANY BLANKETS THAT SMELL OF SMOKE OR ARE COVERED IN PET HAIR. NO EXCEPTIONS. DO NOT TRY TO HIDE WITH PERFUME OR FABREEZE - IT DOESN'T WORK FOR KIDS WITH RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT USED BLANKETS OF ANY TYPE.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: 

TIME is NOT tax deductible - EVER. Only the materials you use to create the blankets you donate if you have the ORIGINAL RECEIPT. You can count the miles you drove to shop for the materials and deliver the blankets. That's all. Charity miles are less than business miles. If you donate blankets, we have set values for various types and sizes.
 
AND BLANKETS MUST NOT BE WASHED - they need to be brand new fabric made during this community service assigment. We have to say this because recently someone bought really old blankets from Goodwill and tried to pass them off as freshly made. They were worn, pilled and dingy. Not idea for a binky for a child in need of a reminder that they are special, loved, and matter.

ALSO - ALL expenses related to this, including postage are 100% your responsibility - there are no funds, no up-front coverage of ANYTHING by our chapters. We were bitten once and will not be bitten again by a dishonest volunteer eeking out her parole hours. 

ALSO, if you are doing community service hours due to crimes against children, minors, women, we ask that you find another organization. We feel deeply that the hearts of our volunteers go into the blankets as they make them and we want to help these children and women heal.  We will ask for verification from your parole officer to ensure that you meet this requirement.

 

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