Many of us clean out our closets or garages when we get notices that some agency or another is doing a clothing drive. We put some bags on the curb and forget it.
Sometimes we gather up the stuff that wouldn't sell at a yard sale and take it to Goodwill or a similar agency, not so much hoping that someone will benefit from our donation but just glad to have old or under-used stuff off our hands.
Then there are people like Edie Achterman, the founder of Annie's Blankets, a nonprofit group that collects blankets and towels to donate to animal shelters and clinics. Her organization, run out of her Aromas home, recently announced that it had collected more than 20,000 blankets and towels since its formation in 2006.
Edie, who teaches half-time in the San Benito High School Independent Studies program and is married to SBHS librarian Doug Achterman, has had a lifelong passion for animals.
"Animals have always been extremely important to me," she says. "As a child, I was a big fan of shows such as 'Wild Kingdom' and 'Born Free.' My mother signed me up for a horseback riding camp when I was 6, and I've been passionate about horses ever since. When I was a little girl, I decided I couldn't survive without a dog and harangued my parents until they gave in and got us Annie, the namesake for my organization."
Today, Edie's bookshelves are lined with books about animals, and her own unpublished novels always feature horses, dogs, or cats as main characters.
The concept of Annie's Blankets was inspired by Edie's visit to a veterinary office, where she saw an ill family dog curled up comfortably on a crocheted blanket. Later that year, when she brought a stray cat to the vet, she donated the towel used to carry the animal. Edie realized that the care people provide through tending to ill or unwanted pets can be enhanced by providing those animals a warm, comfortable place to rest.
While she knew the donated blankets provided comfort to homeless companion animals awaiting adoption at shelters, Edie has learned the bedding donated by Annie's Blankets serves much broader purposes.
Clinic workers "clean animals' ears and noses with the towels, wipe down equipment and kennels, layer crates (where animals await treatment) with blankets, and dry animals after baths, among many other things," Edie says.
Following the Cosco Busan oil spill in November 2007, Annie's Blankets supplied sheets that the Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz draped over the cages of rescued birds so they could rest comfortably but still have fresh air and light. The Wildlife Center at the SPCA of Monterey County reports that donated bed liners are sturdy enough to withstand raptors' talons.
Annie's Blankets has also aided Best Friends Animals Sanctuary in Utah; first when the group rescued more than 300 dogs from a bombing in Beirut and more recently when the sanctuary took in dogs affected by the Michael Vick dog-fighting ring.
Edie says she "easily" spends up to 30 hours a week working for Annie's Blankets.
"However, every time I take a truckload of bedding to a shelter and see the staff members' faces light up when we come through the door with our bundles of bedding, I am reminded why I love this work," she says.
Annie's Blankets works with high school students in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties who volunteer with the organization and earn community service hours. Edie hopes to partner with 'Baler students as well.
"As a teacher myself, I relish the opportunity to inspire young people toward reaching out to animal welfare groups and the homeless companion animals we serve," she says. "One of my own students, a tennis player, regularly donates tennis balls for us to bring to shelters when we donate bedding."
Annie's Blankets has two donation spots in San Benito County: Hollister Animal Control and Pet Friends. Since she and Doug teach in the county, Edie hopes that local merchants, feed stores, or pet shops will consider placing a donation barrel at their business.
"The merchants who host collection barrels do not have to directly serve the animal world, either," she says. "We have several drop-off sites at coffee houses; one in a frame shop; and one barrel that rotates around a shopping center in Palo Alto. We look forward to a more active presence in San Benito County."
That is one reason Annie's Blankets is hosting a benefit fundraiser, "Blankets & Blues," on May 4 at Pinnacle Farms in San Juan Bautista.
The event, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., will feature gourmet appetizers from the farm's organic produce, wine tasting, desserts, a silent auction, and a self-guided tour of the farm, located at 400 Duncan Ave. - off Lucy Brown Lane. Suggested, tax-deductible donations are $40 for adults and $10 for children. All proceeds will support Annie's Blankets' good works.
The Annie's Blankets slogan is "New life for old blankets and towels."
Edie said that "while this idea originated as a way to help keep used bedding out of the landfills, I've found that it applies in so many ways … from giving my childhood dog a form of new life, to giving me new life with such an inspirational project, to, most importantly, hopefully giving new life to the dogs awaiting adoption in local shelters."
For more information about Annie's Blankets, including volunteering, hosting a collection barrel, or for more details on "Blankets & Blues," visit www.anniesblankets.org, e-mail info@anniesblankets.org, or call 831-442-8098.
Adam Breen Adam Breen teaches journalism at San Benito High School. He is former editor of The Free Lance.
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