Susan Finch spent last weekend running what she calls Fleece Weekend, handing out $1,200 worth of donated fabric to Binky Patrol volunteers in ten- and fifteen-minute visits at her Beaverton home. In this episode, she reflects on what she noticed during those short visits and what it revealed about the difference between artists and crafters, knowing that the two merge quiet frequently. Artists, she says, tend to create alone - they get in their zone. Crafters crave, or thrive being part of a community, even when they finish a project on their own. Susan talks about feeling isolated during a normal work week and why gathering with other volunteers, even briefly, brings a different kind of joy than solitary creative work. She also shares why she believes people right now want a way to feel useful and connected, and how a single hour a month making blankets for kids in need can do exactly that.

Learn more at https://binkypatrol.org

Some "I dare yous":

• Reach out to Binky Patrol about volunteering, even if you can only give an hour a month
• Email Susan directly at sfinch@binkypatrol.org if you want to get involved or ask questions
• Visit binkypatrol.org to find a chapter near you
• If there's no chapter nearby, ask about starting one
• Try a small crafting project with a friend this week and notice how it feels different from crafting alone
• Listen to more episodes at binkypatrol.show

Rania Dudum and Zoe Rucker are in their early twenties, juggling work, school, roommates, and everything else that comes with that stage of life. They still make time for Binky Patrol, and in this episode they tell Susan why.

Rania describes her first Bink-A-Thon, where volunteers who had never met made nearly 300 blankets in five hours. Zoe explains why the lowest barrier to entry she has ever seen keeps her coming back. Together they cover eight new chapters opened this year, a crochet creator with 200,000 followers who posted about Binky Patrol after a single message, and the legacy afghans that found new purpose with children in crisis.

Susan closes with a look back at 30 years and a wish: a Binky Patrol chapter in every county in America.

Rania Dudum [00:02:10]:

“Getting to spend an hour out of your day making a blanket can impact the life of a child for the rest of theirs.”

Zoe Rucker [00:05:20]:

“It’s a serious thing, but it is, like, genuinely the most unserious thing, I feel like if you want to get involved, all you have to do is make a blanket, and that could take an hour or you could spend days doing it.”

Learn more at https://binkypatrol.org and how you can get involved.

It's Binky Patrol's 30th anniversary. Susan Finch marks the week with a look back at how one mention on The Oprah Winfrey Show launched the organization into 48 states almost overnight. She invites every chapter and supporter to celebrate this Saturday, gather friends, finish a stash project or a UFO, and send photos of how they marked the milestone. Susan also introduces Comforting in Color, a flexible new project any group, school, church, or business can run. Plus a look back at three decades of memories: golf tournaments, a summer of community quilting at a Wells Fargo branch, the Founder's Day Parade, braille binkies for blind children, and two throwback clips revisiting the chaos and joy of Disney's Give a Day Get a Day program and a massive Girl Scout troop blanket drive. Thank you to the national partners who made 30 years possible.

Learn More: https://binkypatrol.org

Donate: https://binkypatrol.org/donate-to-binky-patrol

More Ways to Help: https://binkypatrol.org/ways-to-help/

Thirty years national — One Oprah Winfrey Show mention launched Binky Patrol into roughly 48 states almost overnight.

Comforting in Color launch — A new flexible project any group, school, church, or business can run in their own space.

Anniversary celebration invite — Susan invites every chapter and supporter to mark the milestone this Saturday with friends and a stash project.

Time capsule reveal — Susan's chapter will finally open a sealed time capsule from the 1990s that's never been touched.

Early supporters thanked — Susan thanks founding-era volunteers and partners, including the original golf tournament organizers and a Wells Fargo branch that hosted a summer of community quilting.

Disney and Girl Scout memories — Two archived clips revisit the chaotic, joyful drop-off days from Disney's Give a Day Get a Day program and a massive Girl Scout troop blanket drive.