The Blue Ribbon Project :: How We Can Help

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cricut. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now more than ever we need to help each other. With everything going on in the world, so many people are falling through the cracks and many of those people are children. It is absolutely heartbreaking to think about so many children who are being taken from their homes due to unsafe environments and going into the Foster Care system with nothing! I was beyond honored when I was invited to participate in The Blue Ribbon Project and Cricut to do my part in giving some relief to these children during their life changing transition. This is where The Blue Ribbon Project comes in.

What is The Blue Ribbon Project?

The Blue Ribbon Project is a volunteer, non-profit community organization committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect as well as a support network for the survivors of child abuse, child sexual assault and Foster Care.

How Can I Help?

Did you know that when most children enter Foster Care, it’s an emergency situation and these children can be taken from their homes with as little as the clothes on their back? And to add insult to injury, children are given trash bags to carry the few belongings that they may have.

I have teamed up with Cricut® to provide a bit of comfort to children going into Foster Care with little to nothing. I personalized two backpacks to donate to The Blue Ribbon Project along with some personal items to help these children.

Backpack Design #1

The first backpack I designed is for a girl between the ages of 8 and 9 years old. I am personally a huge fan of rainbows and find that they bring me to a happy place. This is why I chose this rainbow design from the Cricut Design Space.

This was very easy to make with the help of my Cricut Explore Air 2 and my Cricut EasyPress. The only challenge was finding all of these beautiful colors to really make this design pop on the cream colored backpack.

After deciding on the right size and collecting the correct (or mostly correct) Cricut Vinyl and Glitter Iron-On materials, I clicked “make it” and The Design Space helped me with the rest.

Thanks to my Cricut Explore Air 2 I was able to cut out each color with precision and iron them on individually, in the order that they were cut.

I added a sun to brighten it up a little more and I think it turned out really cute!

Backpack Design #2

This design came very easy to me since it was designed for a 6-7 year old boy (Kolton is seven). I asked my son what he would want if he got a new backpack and he said with conviction, “TRAINS”! So trains it is…

I selected the below design from the Cricut Design Space:

And with the Cricut black vinyl iron-on material I clicked ‘Make It’ and voila!

Once again, I used my Cricut EasyPress2 to iron the material onto the backpack. I am happy with how it turned out:

The Items:

The Blue Ribbon Project provides lists of items needed for the children who are suddenly taken into Foster Care and they are seperated by age groups. This way those looking to donate know just what is appropriate and needed the most. Here are the lists I printed out and included in the backpack:

I purchased a few of these items and included them in the backpacks before sending them to:

The Blue Ribbon Project

102 Waterside Court

Edgewater, MD 21037

Nothing can completely alleviate the heartache these children experience but if I can do one small thing to help them feel more comfortable during their transition, I am more than happy to help.

For more information about The Blue Ribbon Project and ways you can help, check out their website.

FYI: The Blue Ribbon Project is currently not accepting donation until after April 10 due to COVID-19 precautions.