Every inmate in the Ohio Reformatory for Women has a job assignment. They range from maintenance to laundry, students to animal trainers, kitchen workers to housekeeping – just about anything you can think of to keep the institution running and the inmates occupied.
My job is unique: It is community service-based, and its headquarters is in Westerville, not at the prison. I am one of seven women who work for My Very Own Blanket (MVOB), and it is a huge blessing in my life.
We make quilts and blankets for children who are entering the foster care system. I can’t imagine what those kids are experiencing emotionally when they are removed from their homes and placed with strangers. The quilts we make are given to them to keep, as their very own, no matter how many different foster homes they are sent to.
It is my deepest hope for each child who receives a quilt that he or she feels loved and special. A handmade quilt is tangible proof that someone cares for them. They can wrap themselves up and feel comfort and security. I do the same thing with the one and only blanket I was allowed to receive from my parents in 1994. It is as close to a hug as I can get across the miles and years.
I had never made a quilt before coming to prison, but now I’ve made three. I’ve learned how therapeutic working with such colorful fabrics and designing patterns can be. Oh, it is good for the soul! And to know it will be given to a child who is going through a time of personal crisis drives my efforts even more.
Jessica Rudolph, the founder and CEO of MVOB and a member of Columbus St. Mary Magdalene Church, visited our little prison workshop, and we gave her 20 quilts made during the past two years. The designs were very diverse: Hello Kitty, Marvel superheroes, sea creatures, flowers, flamingos, sports and piano keyboards. No two are alike, and creating them is a rare opportunity to express our individual style.
Rudolph shared insight as to the impact of our work. She told us that children who are old enough can choose from among several quilts, crocheted or knitted blankets. This is important because in a situation where they have no other choices and no voice, they get to choose which blanket they want to keep and can then say, “This is mine.”
Sewn to the back of each quilt and blanket are tags that contain the words: “A special gift of love, made just for you! This belongs to ____. Handmade by ____.” There is a space for a few encouraging words at the bottom of the tag. Before the quilt leaves our area, we write our first name in the second blank and include an uplifting thought. Upon receiving the quilt, the child writes his or her name in the first blank.
Rudolph stressed how validating that process is. She said, “Names have value and are empowering. Names are certain and personal when everything else in their world is uncertain.” I can relate to that because, as an inmate, I am identified as Williams No. 33731. It has been that way for more than 27 years.
How wonderfully liberating and personal to write my first name, Michele, on something that will last the lifetime of a child! It reminds me that I have value, too, and it strengthens my sense of self-worth and empowerment – just like it does for them.
It also allows me to connect, with deep empathy and compassion, to them and their uncertain future because mine is uncertain, too. We both have hopes and dreams, but we don’t know what is in store for us.
Reflecting on this brought to mind Jeremiah 29:11, and it has become my prayer for every child who receives a quilt while in foster care: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope.”
I know that as long as God has the ultimate agenda and goes along with us as we walk this winding path of life, we can have hope for our future. I have supersized hope, and I’m sure those kids do, too!
Rudolph also shared the history of MVOB, which started 21 years ago with a blanket she was knitting while her three young children slept at night. She asked God what she should do with it because her children already had one apiece and didn’t need another. God gave her the idea to give it away to a child in need, so she did.
Inspired by the opportunity to help more children, she made flyers and distributed them to family and friends, asking them to make one blanket each. Her goal was a humble 12 for that year. She received 84! They were sent to several child services agencies in three counties, and My Very Own Blanket was born.
God clearly appreciated her dedication to serving Him this way and grew the organization exponentially over the years. MVOB received 20,000 blankets and quilts in 2020 that were dispersed to agencies in every state, plus Canada and the Virgin Islands.
The home base of MVOB is called The Little Blanket Shop at 407 W. Main St. in Westerville. It is a small storefront space where Rudolph and several volunteers work on quilting projects and send out 25 quilts and blankets per quarter to various agencies. Additionally, they receive donations of fabric, quilting supplies, yarn and completed quilts and blankets.
There is an army of people who quilt and crochet across Ohio whom she has named “Blanket Angels,” and she told us we are included. Who knew we could be inmates and angels at the same time? Who knew we could be seen beyond our prison identities and mistakes of the past to be included as members of such a worthwhile army? God did, of course.
Not a day goes by that I don’t thank the Good Lord for allowing me to be a Blanket Angel, a member of this special quilt-making army, doing our part for His children. It humbles me and fills me with gratitude. I have come to realize that He is the vine of MVOB, and we are the branches, and together we bear much fruit – or, in this case, we make many blankets!
To find out more about MVOB, visit myveryownblanket.org.
Michele Williams is an inmate at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.
