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Need Community Service Hours? We've got you covered!
WE DO NOT ACCEPT LAST-MINUTE VERIFICATIONS. This is because we are 100% volunteer and don't always check emails immediately, nor can we get your forms filled out. Give us a few days or a week's notice, please. We want you to make your deadlines. WE DO NOT ACCEPT USED BINKIES - YOU MUST MAKE THEM, NOT YOUR GRANDMA. AND PLEASE DO NOT donate blankets from your closet that you no longer use, even if they were handmade. Blankets with holes, showing signs of wear or pilling will not be accepted. This is about community service HOURS. Time YOU spend for whatever the courts didn't like that you did. 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: 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 . Also, we've been doing this a while and have to get a bit firmer on a few things.
If this is to satisfy court-ordered community service hours, we now have more requirements, including a form of the required information. This is due to a few bad apples trying to turn in used blankets, items that didn't fit our size requirements, and basically lying about what they did for the hours. We are also adding a new form for you to give us more details - your parole officer, etc. No hours will be given without this form being filled out. Once filled out, it will be sent to your PO for THEIR approval. You will be copied.
That form is here: https://binkypatrol.org/forms.cfm?id=111
Everyone can follow the instructions below. Only court-ordered community service people must fill out the form, not students.
Dear volunteer,
Let me start by saying how much we appreciate you have chosen to help us and the kids we serve by doing your community service hours through us. We know you are all trying to juggle jobs, kids, AND get these hours done. We've made this as flexible as we can to allow people to do this remotely AND for the courts to trust you are actually doing the hours. That's why we have so many pieces to it so they will trust us and our reputation remains strong to allow people to get their hours through us.
This article is lengthy because it's evolved over a number of years and has to be standard for the entire country and for all situations. I know it may seem a bit strict or harsh, but we are so focused on the kids we serve, and our limited volunteer time, we had to get picky. If you have any questions about anything, please email me directly.
Susan Finch, Founder
sfinch@binkypatrol.org
For your binkies to be accepted you must:
FOR FLEECE BLANKETS: PLEASE CUT OFF THE SELVEDGE EDGES BEFORE YOU CUT THE FRINGE. Binkies with those edges in the fringe will not be accepted because they look TERRIBLE. Even poor people, sick people like to receive beautiful items - not slapped together and rushed. Hours for binkies not completed will not count. Our priority is the child receiving the binky, not your community service hours.
TIE ALL FRINGES - go through them and double check that all of the fringe has been tied. Some of you turn in over 100 binkies and half are not all tied. It's a lot of time for our chapter leaders to "proof" each binky. PLEASE have them all done. Hours for binkies not completed will not count.
If you are SEWING BINKIES:
TRIPLE CHECK FOR PINS! Open the quilt and lay it across a table, then run your hands over every inch, FRONT AND BACK, and check for pins. Too often pins are missed and actually sewn INSIDE with the batting or left holding the front, batting and backing together! One missed pin can cause irreparable harm to babies, children and the Binky Patrol reputation.
HAVE CLEAN-SMELLING BINKIES. THEY CAN NOT SMELL LIKE SMOKE or be COVERED IN PET HAIR. We will NOT wash binkies to get the smell out. For FLEECE blankets, you need to check with the facility you are donating to. For SEWN, KNITTED OR CROCHETED NEVER WASH.
If you must wash a fleece blanket, please wash the blankets before donating them with UNSCENTED detergent and please do NOT USE dryer sheets of any type. People are often allergic to scented items and the blankets will be rejected by shelters and hospitals if they have a strong scent. If you are around smokers. One community service person swore that it was her neighbors that smoked not her, I gagged as I brought them out of the bag. She assured me she only vaped. It cost us $80 and 4 hours of time to wash them twice in industrial machines and dry them. We will not count smokey binkies nor wash binkies with pet hair. It's too costly and time-consuming.
From one of our Area Coordinators - a gentle reminder - Make sure any words in the pattern are going the right direction BEFORE you cut and tie
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.
CHECK WHERE YOU ARE DONATING. SOME PLACES REQUIRE BLANKETS ARE WASHED. WE PREFER THEY ARE NOT WASHED. IT WILL DEPEND ON WHERE YOU ARE DELIVERING. QUILTED,, CROCHETED, KNITTED - NEVER WASHED. FLEECE NO SEW TIED - it varies - they need to be brand new fabric made during this community service assignment. 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 ideal 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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