One of the many acts of kindness that came out of the Sandy Hook tragedy was Binky Patrol Southern Connecticut, started by Jeanne Malgioglio. She said the tragedy really hit close to home, as a teacher and a mom, living nearby in Monroe with young kids at the time.
“I was making a hat for my neighbor for a Christmas gift. And I'm like, I can't do this. So, my friend Dina and I got the idea of making scarves for the students at Sandy Hook,” said Malgioglio.
So together, they put out a call on Facebook for 600 scarves and ended up receiving 3,700 scarves, or beautiful handmade hugs as they call them.
The scarves came from Germany, Sweden, Scotland and all 50 states. It was a huge outpouring of love and support for the Newtown community as they went to students and staff at the school as well as first responders.
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Once Malgioglio had that network in place of people knitting and crocheting here in Connecticut, along with the drop-off locations, she and the others involved felt the urge to continue the cause.
So, Malgioglio said she did some research and found an organization called Binky Patrol, which did not have a chapter yet in Connecticut. So they officially started Binky Patrol Southern Connecticut 10 years ago and have since made 19,000 blankets.
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They even host community events a few times a year, where they raise money for the material and have people get together to make the blankets. Other groups, like high school sports teams, will also contribute their time to the cause.
All the blankets are then distributed to area hospitals, holiday toy drives, to the Center for Family Justice and the Department of Children and Families.
As Malgioglio continues the cause, now 11 years after Sandy Hook, she still reflects on how it all started, thinking about those 26 lives lost and their families.
“I wouldn't know how to recover from that. You know, and I just hope that, that they can take time and look around and see that there are still good people in the world,” said Malgioglio.
