A Rock Pillows, a blanket, a friend

The Thanksgiving holiday is the kickoff for plans to distribute more than 120 bundles of blankets and pillows to children in need of extra comfort next week.Rock Pillows

The charitable effort — intended to reach children who are homeless, neglected or otherwise in need of comfort — includes cities across the Central Coast, in Las Vegas, and Omaha, Neb. But the wide-reaching work began with a single volunteer, Irene Kilstrom.

She has been wrapping homemade blankets, stuffed animals and pillows into bundles for children in need for 10 years.Rock Pillows

She said Wednesday that she hopes to expand the effort and involve school groups, service organizations and individuals interested in helping children.

“I guess one thing I would want people to know is it’s not that hard to do,” she said.

Kilstrom came up with the idea, a grassroots effort named Project Sweet Dreams, in 2003 when she toured a homeless shelter in Omaha, where she lived with her husband, Chuck, at the time.

“I didn’t realize how many families were homeless,” she said.

Kilstrom focused her efforts on children, some of whom did not have comfortable beds or the stability of a family.

“I just saw the need and it just kind of weighed on me,” she said.

Kilstrom distributes what she calls “Bundles of Love” to children throughout the year and to Santa Barbara County child advocate groups such as child protective services and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).

She started an annual Central Coast tea, held Saturday this year at the Shell Beach Veterans’ Hall, in 2003 to pool resources with other volunteers and invite the public to create the bundles.

What started as 37 bundles became 175, and this year volunteers at the tea generated 120 bundles.

Donna Guild — a volunteer who helped set up the tables of ribbons, blankets and stuffed animals for the tea Saturday — said she and her husband, Al, volunteer to help children.

“These could be children that are burned out of their homes or homeless,” she said. “It’s nice to have something to comfort them.”

Kilstrom will begin her first holiday drops after Thanksgiving.

“It puts smiles on the kids’ faces,” she said. “And that’s really the bottom line.”