A welcome blanket is traditionally created to lovingly mark the arrival of a new person into the world. For the Welcome Blanket Project, each handmade blanket is a physical manifestation of this celebration of new refugees and other immigrants: “Welcome to the United States and your new life here! We are so glad you have arrived.”

When Branch Manager Genelle Schuler learned about the project, she immediately jumped on the opportunity. “We are such a diverse community in Arlington, and the Welcome Blanket Project was a perfect fit with our mission to connect and welcome everybody,” said Schuler.

“My family came to the U.S. from Italy in 1945. No one spoke English. I was the youngest of six children. I was four years old. We lived in a one-bedroom tenement in NYC with a shared bathroom until I was in high school. I've had a wonderful education and have worked and lived all over the world. Follow your dreams; don’t just survive. There are people to help you if you work hard and look to the future.”

Finished blankets will be sent to the California-based Welcome Blanket Project headquarters, which will distribute the blankets and welcome notes to participating galleries, including the Smart Museum of Art (Chicago, IL), MODA (Atlanta, GA), and Fuller Craft (Brockton, MA).

After the exhibitions have concluded, blankets with words of welcome from their creators will be distributed to new immigrants with the help of partner organizations.

Shirlington Library has template welcome notes on-site for blanket creators to fill out when they drop off their blankets. Community members have until January 31, 2027, to drop off donated materials at Shirlington Library.