Guest blog post by Patty Verhagen, ALA New York Unit 942 member and co-coordinator of Lap Robes for Veterans 
 
Lap Robes for Veterans began in November 2007 when Nancy VanApeldoorn saw a veteran shivering in his wheelchair as he attended the celebration of the Marine Corps’  birthday at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Unable to find a blanket for the veteran, Nancy turned this situation into something positive, and Lap Robes for Veterans was started.
 
Lap Robes for Veterans is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization comprised of approximately 30 volunteers who gather weekly to craft the lap robes at Jackie Lynn’s Fabrics in Irondequoit, N.Y. Jackie orders the branch-specific fleece (Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy — Coast Guard and Space Force don’t have specific fleece for those branches so they use a patriotic fleece that has the U.S. flag and an eagle on it). Using her connections, she also graciously donates a classroom for the volunteers to use weekly.  
 
When Nancy relocated to New Bern, N.C., I was already an Auxiliary member and lap robe volunteer. Sue Morris and I became co-chairs of the Lap Robes for Veterans group.
 
Bolts of fleece are trimmed, measured, and cut to ensure coverage of a veteran’s lap and legs. The cut pieces are passed to volunteers who stitch the borders. The hemmed lap robe is then passed to the volunteers who handsew in a label stating “Thank you for your service.” Finally, the finished lap robe is passed to volunteers who perform quality control and then package it, along with a brochure. Several Auxiliary Unit 942 members are part of each step.
 
There is no waste in this process. At the end of the bolt, if there is a small piece remaining, a scarf is made. All scraps are saved and passed to a volunteer who uses it as fill for dog and cat beds, which are given to animal shelters.
 
Lap robes are distributed to Honor Flights, nursing homes, American Legion posts, and other veteran organizations. I am updated with counts by branch for each Honor Flight attendee landing in Rochester, N.Y. Each veteran is presented with a branch-specific lap robe.
 
Over 17,000 lap robes have been distributed. All materials used to create these lap robes come from donations. Cottreall-Warner Auxiliary Unit 942 in Webster, N.Y. recognizes the importance of lap robes and the efforts of its members, donating money each year.  
 
If you would like to learn more about Lap Robes for Veterans, visit www.laprobesforveterans.org or on Facebook.