Life FM Adelaide and their listeners have handed over 50 Buddy Blankets made from empty chip packets to help the homeless.
This winter the Life FM team and their listeners, in conjunction with the Arndale Salvation Army, have been collecting the humble chip packet for a good cause. These chip packets have been turned into absolute lifesaving blankets to help keep Adelaide’s homeless warm during the cooler temperatures.
Many families, schools, community groups, and churches got involved to assist those living rough, with Life FM able to hand over a total of 50 Buddy Blankets made from empty chip packets to the Arndale Salvation Army.
Some groups even took on the challenge of making Buddy Blankets themselves.
Major Gaye and Richard Day were amazed to see the Life FM Roadies arrive with not only boxes of blankets, but other essentials donated by listeners including:
- 126 pairs of gloves
- 24 pairs of socks
- 11 scarves
- 79 beanies
- 8 ponchos
- 110 thin thermal blankets
- 5 foam mats
Major Gaye shared with the team that there had been an increase in in demand for help over the last couple of months with the Arndale Salvos experiencing 70-90 people coming in each week seeking help and assistance.
The Life FM team were able to experience this first hand at the handover, when someone came in looking for a blanket. She had just been released from hospital and her blanket was wet and mouldy and needed to be thrown out. The team were able to give her a waterproof, warm blanket on the spot.
Buddy Blankets are a cheap, environmentally friendly, practical, and powerful resource for those struggling on the streets.
The blankets, a concept first developed in the UK by Pen Huston and the Crisp Packet Project, work by using the silver lining on the chip packets to reflect body heat. They are fused together in a two metre by one metre rectangle and then covered in a plastic sheeting for protection.
Jodie from the Life FM Roadies shares, "Each Buddy Blanket is made with care and love, containing chip packets donated by people in the community who have come together with a heart to help the homeless. It's like a patchwork blanket of love from the community to provide warmth not only for their body but for their emotional wellbeing."