How it All Works
 
There are many steps involved in creating and delivering a "rectangle" afghan.  Volunteers of all ages in over 48 states, D.C., and four other countries knit and crochet 6" x 9" rectangles from acrylic, 4 ply worsted weight yarn.  The completed rectangles are collected by few volunteers to be sorted by color.  Every 2-3 months a Put Together Event is held where volunteers lay out 49 rectangles for each afghan.  The laid out rectangles are numbered, photographed, pinned, and bagged with a skein of yarn for crocheting the afghan together. Volunteers take home bags of laid out rectangles to assemble the afghan.  When the afghans are complete, they are delivered to the HAP Coordinator.  She photographs the completed blanket, and washes it for delivery.  A thank you card with the first names of all the volunteers is pinned to the afghan.  The prepared afghan is placed in a large clear plastic bag which is tied with a red/white/blue ribbon.   Volunteers take about a dozen afghans at a time to Walter Reed Army Medical Center or other facilities where the American Red Cross and hospital chaplains deliver them to active duty service members.   Regular deliveries are now being sent to Bagram Airfield Combat Support Hospital in Afghanistan, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and occasional deliveries to Ft Bragg AMC, Brooke AMC, and Andrews AFB Medical Center.