All Volunteer, All Heart from Binky Patrol

Susan Finch - Binky Patrol
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Non-Profit

This show is about the ability to run a non-profit from the heart with a sense of humor and still be successful. We interview our volunteers, partners, and other non-profits to learn from each other, and support each other as we bring love and hope to our communities. Binky Patrol is a 100% volunteer grassroots 501c3 founded in 1996. Binky Patrol makes blankets and gives them away to children and teens in need of a reminder that they matter, are not invisible and that someone cares. We give to children who are ill, abused, or in trauma.

  1. Sep 15

    EP100: A Utah Mom, Nine Kids, and a New Way to Give Back

    Susan Finch marks 30 years of Binky Patrol with an update for chapter leaders and volunteers everywhere. Directors are flying in from across the country for a September 19 gathering in Thousand Oaks, and Susan shares the story of a Utah mom raising nine kids who wants to turn blanket making into a family project and maybe a new drop-off location. Chapter report forms are getting simpler, Bink-a-Thon season kicks off October 17, and Susan explains why Binkys Out matters more than Binkys In. New volunteer paths are opening too, including a Greek life partnership starting at Oregon State. Whether you lead a chapter, want to start one, or just want to make one blanket and give it away, this episode has a place for you.

  2. Aug 25

    EP99: Why Crafting Together Beats Crafting Alone

    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

  3. Jul 16

    EP98: Create More Than You Consume: Volunteering in Your Twenties

    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.

  4. Jun 17

    EP97: 30 Years of Making & Giving Blankets - Oprah, Disney, Girl Scouts and more!

    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.

  5. Jun 8

    EP96: Directors Reflect: 30 Years of Comforting Covers

    Four Binky Patrol directors — Miriam Siegel (Nebraska), Carolyn Berndt (Thousand Oaks), Terrie Madruga (Idaho), and Jeanne Malgioglio (Connecticut) — join founder Susan Finch for a 30th anniversary conversation that is equal parts laughter, tears, and gratitude. "I'm here to help. Can't sew, but here I am." — Carolyn Berndt, arriving eight months pregnant to her first Binky meeting You'll hear Miriam's story of finding a tiny newspaper ad and calling her mom instantly. Carolyn showing up eight months pregnant, unable to cut a straight line, and becoming a public speaking powerhouse. Terrie turning "I have no talent" into every volunteer having a title and a purpose. And Jeanne — the newest director — already mastering the art of moving 500 blankets across the country on donated trucks. Missing today but never forgotten: Tom, Marlys, and Donna Serra — each one a quiet, steady force behind the mission. This one will make you cry. In the best way.

  6. May 26

    EP95: The Chapter That Started After Sandy Hook and Never Stopped

    Jeanne started her Connecticut chapter one town over from Newtown. After Sandy Hook, she and her friends made 3,000 green and white scarves. When it was over, everyone asked what was next. They found Binky Patrol. That was twelve years ago. Barbara joined as the chapter's voice, connector, and fundraiser — rheumatoid arthritis in her hands, no shortage of heart. Together they've delivered blankets to 199 students after a classmate's murder, to a Florida family stranded in Connecticut ICU beds, to a young man with spinal muscular atrophy who was given a year to live and is now 21. "All I want is for him to be remembered. When his friends say, 'What can we do for you, Barb?' I says, 'Don't forget his father. Don't forget me. But more importantly, don't ever forget him.'" - Barb This year the Connecticut chapter is aiming to hit 30,000 total blankets — a number that lands squarely on Binky Patrol's 30th anniversary. Listen and find chapter info at binkypatrol.org.

  7. May 19

    EP94: New Chapters, Big Hearts, and a Milestone June

    Five new Binky Patrol chapters have launched — St. Marys, Georgia; Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania; Janesville, Wisconsin; Sharon, Wisconsin; and a drop-off location near Oregon State University in Corvallis. Pennsylvania's newest chapter made 86 blankets at their very first Binkathon, with a football team and student volunteers showing up to help. June 20th marks Binky Patrol's official 30th anniversary — the date a shout-out on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996 turned a 30-day-old Laguna Beach group into a national organization, triggering 800+ calls in 48 hours. Some of those original chapters are still active. Oregon volunteers: storage cleanout is this Saturday. Fleece, flannel, cotton, batting, and soft washable yarn only. No stretchy fabric, no sheer curtains, no burlap. The October Binkathon is open to all chapters. Find yours — or start one — at binkypatrol.org. [00:00:00] Welcome and new chapters overview [00:00:26] New chapter — St. Marys, Georgia (Latoya Wertz, St. Mary's Senior Activity Center) [00:00:49] New chapter — Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania (Pamela Scandale, 86-blanket first Binkathon) [00:01:12] New chapter — Janesville, Wisconsin (Dylan Thomas, Bodacious Brew Coffee Shop) [00:01:32] New chapter — Sharon, Wisconsin (Sherri Farning) [00:01:52] New chapter — Corvallis, Oregon drop-off near Oregon State University (Rania, Ryan, Zoe) [00:02:14] Mr. Ballen Grant and private donation funding social and chapter growth [00:02:45] Oregon storage unit cleanout — this Saturday; fabric needs [00:03:30] June 20th 30th anniversary preparation [00:03:41] The 1996 Oprah Winfrey Show mention and what happened next [00:04:06] 800+ calls in two days; original chapters still active [00:04:41] Mission — blankets as a reminder that kids matter [00:05:01] October Binkathon — find or host an event at binkypatrol.org [00:05:18] Final call to action — join, volunteer, start a chapter

  8. Apr 8

    EP93: From 27 Kids to 2,000: How Experience Camps Grows a Grief Sanctuary

    When Liza Buck followed a stranger's car down a dirt road into the Maine woods as an 18-year-old, she had no idea she was headed to a grief camp. She thought she was going to lifeguard. That accidental detour became her life's work. Liza is now on staff full time at Experience Camps, a nonprofit founded in 2009 that provides free week-long programs for children who have lost a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. What started with 27 kids in Maine now serves nearly 2,000 children a summer across 16 programs in 8 states. In this conversation, Liza and Susan talk about what grieving children actually need, why the first question you ask matters more than almost anything else, and how a camper's fishbowl analogy captures something most adults spend years trying to articulate. They also talk about anger as a legitimate part of grief, the value of saying the words "death" and "dying" out loud, and what it looked like when a Binky Patrol blanket showed up on a 30-degree May night in Connecticut. Liza shares how volunteers can get involved, where camps are located, and what families need to know about applying. experiencecamps.org binkypatrol.org Liza Buck Liza has been a teacher, CAD counselor, and has been involved with Experience Camps since 2014, beginning as a bunk counselor and then operating as the Program Director for Experience Camps in California. In addition to her teaching degrees, she earned her MSW at the University of Maine and is a licensed master social worker. Liza has a passion for kids and mission-driven work which is why Experience Camps feels like “home.” When she's not doing "the best work ever," you can find her with her dog or baking cookies.   Liza Buck, LMSW  Senior National Camp Manager (she/her)  (207) 554-0348  liza@experiencecamps.org experiencecamps.org | @experiencecamps

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About

This show is about the ability to run a non-profit from the heart with a sense of humor and still be successful. We interview our volunteers, partners, and other non-profits to learn from each other, and support each other as we bring love and hope to our communities. Binky Patrol is a 100% volunteer grassroots 501c3 founded in 1996. Binky Patrol makes blankets and gives them away to children and teens in need of a reminder that they matter, are not invisible and that someone cares. We give to children who are ill, abused, or in trauma.

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